The North West MEC for Local Government and Traditional Affairs, China Dodovu has urged all District and Local chairpersons of the Municipal Public Accounts Committees (MPACs) to work hand in glove with strategic stakeholders to ensure that the provincial government succeeds in its quest towards building viable and sustainable municipalities.
MEC Dodovu was addressing a convergence of District and Local Chairpersons of MPACs during the launch of the Provincial Municipal Public Accounts Committees forum at the Mmabatho Civic Centre recently.
“It is pivotal to work together with organisations such as the Hawks, the Public Protector and the Office of the Auditor General”, urged MEC Dodovu. He said the forum will be used as a broader oversight platform whereby Chairpersons of local and district MPACs can share experiences, challenges and exchange best practices. This forum will serve as a podium where Chairpersons will engage, strategise, plan and monitor activities of MPACs in order to ensure that various municipalities in the Province begin to register progress towards the promotion of good governance, transparency and accountability”, he said.
MEC Dodovu stated his wish to have the VUNA awards. He said this will encourage excellence in municipalities. “We want to see municipalities in the Province improving every year’, he said.
Meanhwhile, the department will also prioritise capacitating members of MPACs on matters of oversight, probing and identifying elements which contribute to poor governance and maladministration of municipalities through workshops while also ensuring coordination and monitoring as processes unfold.
The Chairperson of the Provincial Standing Committee on Public Accounts Hon. Hlomane Chauke advised that there should be unlimited access between his office and all MPAC chairpersons. “Your work is to probe everything. It is in your job to ensure that all municipal business is done according to rules and regulations of the law. Play oversight, monitor then hold accountable”, said Chauke.
The MPAC’s were established in terms of the Local Government Municipal Structures Act, Act 117 of 1998 and the Municipal Finance Management Act, Act 56 of 2003
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