The Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs needs to work towards playing a much more meaningful and active role in supporting municipalities that fail to provide quality services to their communities, North West MEC for Local Government and Traditional Affairs, Mothibedi Gordon Kegakilwe told employees of his department at a general staff meeting held on Thursday at Mmabatho Civic Centre.
MEC Kegakilwe, said that his department was empowered by various pieces of legislation, to effectively deal with ailing municipalities. He warned that the department’s performance was judged on the performance of municipalities in the province. “We cannot continue to have a situation where a municipality gets a disclaimer from the Auditor-General from five years in succession. It is only when we are able to turn around the situation at our municipalities, that we will be seen to be succeeding in our role of supporting this sphere level of government,” he stressed.
He also emphasised the importance of establishing and maintaining good relationship at all spheres of government as well as ensuring that communities can actively participate in the affairs of their localities. “We must be able to develop mechanism to get feedback from our communities,” he added. He called on officials to report any suspect incidents of corruption to the relevant authorities.
Meanwhile, Kegakilwe said his department needed to work towards strengthening the role of traditional leaders in the affairs of their communities, by providing the necessary resources needed that will enable them to carry out their work.
Enquiries:
Lesiba Moses Kgwele
Departmental Spokesperson
Tel: 018 388 2391
Cell: 083 629 1987
Fax: 018 384 5426
E-mail: LKgwele@nwpg.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Developmental Local Government and Traditional Affairs, North West Provincial Government
22 May 2009
