State of the municipality address 2018
The executive mayor of eMalahleni said it gives her a great sense of pride and was humbled by the singular honour and trust bestowed upon her as she deliver the Emalahleni 2018 State of the Municipality Address at the behest of both the ruling party and council.
The executive mayor of eMalahleni said it gives her a great sense of pride and was humbled by the singular honour and trust bestowed upon her as she deliver the Emalahleni 2018 State of the Municipality Address at the behest of both the ruling party and council.
She said she was even more privileged and absolutely honoured to deliver her maiden State of the Municipality Address in 2018 as the country celebrate the life and times of the ANC tenth president and the first president of the democratic South Africa Isithalandwe, Seaparankwe Nelson Mandela, who would have been 100 years old had he lived. She said: “The selfless sacrifice and courage of Madiba’s leadership is remembered by the nation and international community alike and best captured in the words he spoke during his trial in 1964 when he said.
“I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination, I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve, but if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
Executive mayor of eMalahleni Cllr Linah Malatjie addressing during the Emalahleni 2018 State of the Municipality address held at the city council on Thursday, May 31. She is with Fransciesbange Shabangu of Kopanang Secondary School.
Mayor Malatjie said that Madiba might be physically gone, but his spiritual teachings and legacy of ethical leadership underscored by sacrifice, humility and unity, free from factional politics of slates and free from corruption. His leadership was imbued with revolutionary patience, and building a developmental and prosperous municipality that should be an ideal for which all of us must be prepared to die, should the need arise.
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She thanked her predecessor, former Cllr Lindiwe Ntshalintshali who is currently the acting provincial secretary of the African National Congress for a job well done in laying the foundation upon which they can build an ideal model of a municipality for the generations to come. She further thanked the military veterans for their role in the liberation struggle and that they deserve to live better.
On the issue of economic outlook she said:
“Ladies and gentlemen, it must always be remembered that you can’t build and grow the local economy in isolation. What is happening globally, nationally, provincially, in the Nkangala District, even in our neighbouring municipalities like Steve Tshwete and Victor Khanye will certainly affect Emalahleni economy directly or indirectly. We have seen how the high rate of steel production in China and their steel being sold to export markets at prices below the cost of production, it almost collapsed the steel manufacturing industry in South Africa. As Emalahleni Local Municipality we were not so lucky when one of the historically big employer, Highveld Steel and Vanadium was forced to shut-down. More than 2000 employees were sent home without retrenchment packages. Equally we have also seen how global commodity price has affected coal mining sector leading to multitude job losses, it be noted that when the steel manufacturing and mining industries were suffocated by the global markets forces, the economy of Emalahleni was severely compromised. We have to accept that the construction of Kusile Power Station estimated at R150 Billion has for the duration of the construction given Socio-Economic cushion to both Emalahleni and Victor Khanye as the biggest beneficiaries at least in terms of local labour absorption. With Kusile nearing its completion, more than 6000 people are being released back to the unemployment pool.”
She also noted that for the year 2018/19 the municipality will focus on getting the basics right, stabilizing the organisation by filling critical budgeted posts with people in possession of right skills and will be one of the urgent steps. She further noted that they will fast track all critical appointments, posts will be advertised and the right people in the right positions must be appointed within three months of the new financial year. Also working together with all political parties, organised labour, civil society structures such as Sanco, youth structures, sector departments, state owned companies, developmental finance institution and the private sector as a collective leadership, they will urgently pay attention to factors which often triggers instability in the communities and a need to strength in the turnaround strategy and in order to grow the local economy.
No forging and strengthening the strategic partnership including inter governmental relations she explained that Emalahleni Local Municipality has welcomed the South 32 investment of R4.3 billion, which will extend the life span of its Klipspruit Colliery by approximately 20 years with an estimated of 4000 jobs to be created during construction and permanent employment for about 740 people.
Further saying that the project takes place against the backdrops of 36% of unemployed young people in the municipality and that will be a major boost for the Emalahleni LED imperatives. She also touched on the service delivery projects covering water and sanitation, housing and road maintenance and plant machinery and equipment worth R24.8 million was received as a donation courtesy from Anglo American Coal, South 32, Glencore and Imbali Mine.
“We will continue to improve our working relationships with all mining companies, big or small in order to optimise the pace and quality of service delivery and the local economic development agenda to the next level. The municipality will prioritise good governance and community service deliveries,” she said.
Mayor Malatjie also explained about water and sanitation achievements, road, housing, electricity, other issues, improvements and other developments.
Executive mayor of eMalahleni Cllr Linah Malatjie together with Fransciesbange Shabangu of Kopanang Secondary School handing out certificates to students during the state of the Municipality address held at the city council on Thursday, May 31.
She also raised her concern about the level of municipal debt which is growing on a monthly basis from all the categories, namely organs of state, business and households and this has already landed a number of municipalities into bankruptcy and rendered others dysfunctional. She further underscored that the non-payment of services, places pressure on municipalities to generate their own revenue to supplement the often inadequate funds they receive from the national government. But said it was not all doom and gloom and we should not despair. She said we are like an injured body and we should not desert each other and we need to hold each other’s hands and together commit that the only thing we have is Emalahleni, and we should all roll up our sleeves, dig deeper, dirty our hands and fix Emalahleni.
She also explained about the roles of the Development Finance Institutions (DFI’s), the Industrial Development Cooperation (IDC), National Empowerment Fund (NEF), Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA), National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) and the role they play in the development of the local economy.
On crime and filth she noted that they must be dealt with as they are both slowly engulfing Emalahleni and the disturbing inhuman trend of kidnapping and abuse of women and children in the community. She also mentioned the kidnapping and killing of Gabisile Shabane and her little nephew Welcome Ngwenya.
Other topics that were addressed were: environment and waste management, the re-launched of the Moral Regeneration Movement earlier this month, people’s questions raised during her outreach were also answered.
“Accordingly, the 2018/19 Medium Term Revenue Expenditure Framework presents a total spending budget plan of R3.5 billion compromising R241,8 million for capital budget and R3.3 billion for operational budgets. It is anticipated that R2.7 billion will be from own sourced revenue and an amount for R552.5 million will be from National grants and transfers which constitutes 83% and 17% respectively of the total 2018/19 budget. It is not the intention of the State of the Municipality Address to re-table by item, by project the allocation which was done during the IDP/budget izimbizo and detailed approved IDP document will once again be tabled to communities later this year bearing in mind that the municipal financial year commences on the 1st of July each year. However, it will be a missed opportunity if we don’t highlight some of the success stories, driving costs, challenges and strategic priorities of the next financial year,” said the mayor.
“The account of the municipal achievements, challenges, short to medium term plans I have just outlined, are a true and honest reflection of our political will and technical capacity to take this municipality to the next level. I would like to convey my profound appreciation to my family for your continued support which allows me to serve our people. The personal sacrifices for the greater vision of a better life for all our citizens are highly appreciated. The year 2018 reminds us to draw lessons from the exemplary leadership of Nelson Mandela as we continue on the long walk of the second phase of the transition to vision 2030. Now is the time to lend a hand as the new dawn is upon us and it has inspired hope to our communities and the nation. Raise your hand and say “Thuma Mina, to say no to children, women and the abuse, no to crime, no to cable theft, no to culture of non-payment, no to killings of people living with albinism, no to nyaope and drug abuse, no to poverty and unemployment.
2003. Thuma Mina to say Phambili! Nge Service Delivery Phambili,” concluded the mayor.
