BCM flagged among problem authorities

Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela metros are among the municipalities in the Eastern Cape red-flagged by the provincial government for lagging behind in basic services like water, electricity and their road network.

Cogta MEC Fikile Xasa’s list of problematic municipalities includes Chris Hani in Komani, Mthatha’s King Sabatha Dalindyebo, OR Tambo, Amathole, and Makana municipality in Makhanda.

Minister of cooperative governance Zweli Mkhize has assigned the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (Misa) to intervene and provide technical support aimed at improving the planning and functioning of crucial infrastructure.

Xasa said this amounted to a “stimulus package” and that the municipalities were identifying programmes that would benefit from the Misa intervention.

The MEC, in an attempt to help the PE-based metro, also met with mayor Mongameli Bobani on Tuesday to help identify service delivery issues.

“The responsibility of Cogta in the province is to oversee the rollout of such interventions and to make sure the funds are used for their intended purpose,” said Xasa.

The intervention comes as residents of Elliotdale in the Mbhashe municipality threatened to boycott voter registration. A delegation of senior officials from Eskom and the department of energy, as well as Xasa and his senior officials, are scheduled to meet some ward leaders from the areas on Thursday.

“We’ve heard about the planned mass protest which is threatening the IEC registration and that’s why we’ve flagged Elliotdale as a hot spot, but we’re confident the community will be convinced that some- thing is being done to address their concerns,” said Xasa.

Electricity is also a big issue for the Enoch Mgijima municipality in Komani, which owes Eskom millions of rands and was hard hit by blackouts.

An intervention is also underway in Makana, which has experienced ongoing water shortages and sanitation-related protests. Another service delivery hotspot is BCM’s ward 24 in Potsdam, where Ikhwezi Block residents describe their area as a forgotten village.

Now that Cogta has also set aside funds through Misa, rest assured these issues are being addressed