The MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr Norman Mokoena has congratulated all municipalities in the province for their dedication and commitment in developing their Municipal Turn Around Strategies (MTAS). These MTAS follows the development of the Local Government Turn Strategy and its adoption at Provincial Local
Government Indaba held on 25 to 26 February 2010. The MTAS will ensure that challenges inhibiting the delivery of services to the communities are identified and addressed and that the necessary expertise and resources are allocated appropriately.
A task team comprising of officials from the national and provincial Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs working with relevant sector departments visited all municipalities to assist them develop their own MTAS. During these visit they engaged with the mayors, speakers, members of the mayoral committees, municipal mangers and section 57 managers of the municipalities. In each municipality commissions were set up to address the five key priority areas which include the following:
* Basic Service delivery and infrastructure
* Public participation
* Governance, transformation and institutional capacity
* Financial management and viability
* IDP’s which include Spatial Planning and LED’s.
To date all municipalities have finalised their MTAS and 19 of them have been endorsed by their respective municipal councils. These were signed off by the respective municipal mangers/administrators and the mayors.
These MTAS will ensure each municipality has a specific intervention plan aimed at addressing its challenges rather than the “one size fits all” approach. It will assist municipalities achieve the following:
* Ensure that municipalities meet the basic service needs of communities
* Build a clean, effective, efficient, responsive and accountable local government
* Improve performance and professionalism in municipalities
* Improve national and provincial oversight and support
* Strengthen partnerships between communities, civil society and local government.
In terms of the MTAS municipalities have identified clear deliverables, with targets and the necessary resources. The process that will unfold now will be the integration of these MTAS into the respective Integrated Development Plans of municipalities. MEC Mokoena has pointed out that the MTAS will not just be a document of compliance. “The department will ensure that these strategies are worked into service delivery and budget implementation plans as well as performance contracts of Municipal Mangers and Section 57 Managers. The department will continuously monitor progress,” said Mokoena.
Enquiries:
Simphiwe Kunene
Cell: 082 413 3931
Issued by: Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
24 May 2010
