Municipality to attend to service delivery issues
Member of Parliament and ANC national executive committee member, Dr Zweli Mkhize called for accountability in local leadership while interacting with residents in Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday.
Mkhize, who visited several communities in the northern areas with Mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla, Deputy Mayor Mxolisi Mkhize, and other ANC leaders, said the national and provincial government needed to conduct greater oversight and maintain better communication with local municipalities given the service challenges local governments were facing throughout the country.
Residents appealed for more attention to the barrage of issues their communities face, such as potholes, water leaks, uncollected refuse and sewage spills. Reservoir Road resident Sanjay Sewrathan, said the potholes in his area are unbearable and that people risked being injured or damaging their cars.
Nkuleleko resident Nokwanda Duma, said her area is filthy and that she struggles to access water. She and other Nkuleleko residents asked the party leadership to also address social ills like unemployment and drug use in the community, which are becoming increasingly prevalent.
Duma told Public Eye she is worried about the drug problem as it would lead to an increase in crime. “People are going to start stealing to get money to buy drugs,” she said.
Another Reservoir Road resident who did not want to be named said, “The municipality comes and just cuts lights and water off without properly notifying residents what is happening and why.”
Thebolla addressed the housing issue, telling residents that those who qualify should sign up on the housing register and know that there are proposed housing developments in the works.
He told residents they are “seen and heard” and that the municipality would help where they can.
Thebolla promised that potholes and overgrown grass would be attended to and encouraged people who are struggling with their bills to apply for indigent status.
After listening to residents in and around Nkuleleko, Reservoir Road and other parts of the northern areas, Mkhize said it was evident that the ANC needed to make sure all public representatives undergo further training to ensure that they “humbly and respectfully engage” with residents and respond to issues timeously. He also said the provincial and national governments must be more involved with communities.
“Provincial and national government structures should be able to receive complaints and requests from communities and then meet with members of those communities to get more information and intervene on their behalf.
“I believe the way forward is for the national government to implement a tighter mechanism for holding provincial and local government accountable for service delivery,” he said. The former Health Minister said he and other national leaders will seek timelines from the Msunduzi Municipality as to when issues will be responded to.
“We need to give local government a tight timeframe to respond so that the community knows that once they have spoken to public representatives things must happen,” said Mkhize.
Acknowledging that the city has been under administration for a prolonged period, Mkhize said tight budgets do not mean that service delivery is neglected.
“There has to be a change and the lives of people have to improve. Even though there are challenges like [municipal] budget constraints, a tight budget does not mean that [services can be neglected],” Mkhize said.
Brunetta Reddy from the Northern Areas Residents and Ratepayers Association (Narra), said she was happy that the highlevel delegation had come to the northern areas to see and hear firsthand what the residents who live in both the formal and informal settlements deal with.
She added that she was “happy that the leadership was taking the residents in the area seriously” as the visit was the result of multiple requests from her organisation.
ANC convener Brandon George, said the interaction was part of a broader plan to visit communities around Pietermaritzburg to “show people that the ANC takes them and their concerns seriously.”
George said the visit to the northern areas was pertinent as the area faces many issues. “The ANC has, for a while, been engaging with people, but now we are getting boots on the ground and getting MPS to join community visits,” George said.