Nkangala District Municipality holds the second strategic Lekgotla

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13-03-2023
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Witbank News
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The purpose of the Lekgotla was to further strategies on the first review of the five-year 2022/2023 financial year to the 2026/2027 financial year to ensure that it is responding to the needs of the local municipalities, communities, traditional leaders and accommodates changing circumstances.  Nkangala District Executive Mayor, Councillor Leah Mabuza, attended the second Nkangala District Municipality strategic Lekgotla that took place in eMalahleni last week.

The Lekgotla took place in eMalahleni on March 2 with the purpose to further strategies on the first review of the five-year 2022/2023 Financial Year to the 2026/2027 Financial Year to ensure that it is responding to the needs of the local municipalities, communities, traditional leaders and accommodates changing circumstances. Clr Mabuza indicated that there is a call to critically reflect on how to resolve critical development challenges that have been troubling Nkangala District Municipality for many years. She indicated all the challenges and shortcomings that have to be dealt with, such as poor audit outcomes in our local municipalities, under-expenditure in capital projects, inadequate revenue collection by local municipalities, ageing infrastructure and poor maintenance, inadequate source of water, mushrooming of informal settlements, insufficient communication and marketing of the district. To attract more tourists, Clr Mabuza indicated that the road leading to the Palace of Gogo No Stokana in Mthambothini will be upgraded. The road will be upgraded from gravel to tar with Solar Street lights installed along the road to enable uninterrupted lighting during darkness and at the time of power outages and load shedding. This project must find space in the Medium Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework.

Clr Mabuza indicated the achievement made by the district with obtaining four consecutive unqualified audit opinions and congratulates all the local municipalities who managed to change their audit outcomes. She indicated that poor audit outcomes in local municipalities negatively affect service delivery. Concerning load-shedding, she indicated that its effect has unsettled a few potential investors and investments, which has caused innumerable damage to the economy of the country. The inexpressible impact on human lives and small businesses as a result of load-shedding is yet to be outlined. She indicated that President Ramaphosa has announced he is leading from the front in dealing with load-shedding. There are several methods and relief that will be given to the community, small businesses and also to big businesses in alleviating our economy from the impact of load-shedding. She indicated that the people of the Nkangala District Municipality expect a clear plan of action as to a contribution to resolving the energy crisis, from production to transmission in building energy security for our communities. In this regard, she said the Lekgotla must be clear as to how they will influence the energy expansions that the President has announced to get into the new market of Hydrogen Energy, Independent Power Producers (IPPs), Bio Ethanol, Biogas and Biomass to stimulate job creation and small, micro and medium enterprises development. She said a lot of work has already been done by the national government to pave a way for municipalities to generate or procure their own electricity from IPPs. She indicated, guided by the Municipal Finance Management Act, that the planning approach is led by outcomes. She said with the District Development Model, local municipalities, sector departments, businesses, and state-owned enterprises can be mobilized to join in reorganizing the district into a collaborative planning theatre that is inclusive of all their plans and aspirations.

As to road conditions, she explained that Nkangala is known for being the host of the coal mines predominantly in addition to other minerals. Therefore, most of the Provincial and District Roads are in a dire state as a result of coal haulage. She said infrastructure development is a core for local government’s developmental agenda, therefore we need to be strengthened so that we can respond to massive challenges of bulk service delivery, especially on human rights issues such as access to potable water, electricity, roads and stormwater, therefore it should be in our resolutions for the District to explore on other funding such as Presidential infrastructure investment funding, bulk infrastructure investments and any other to continue to implement our role as legislated.

Furthermore, based on the January 8 Statement, the Makgotla, the 2023 State of the Nation Address and the 2023 State of the Province Address, the following issues have been identified as the required decisive action from the Lekgotla: Resolving water and energy crisis, fighting crime and corruption, poverty and the rise of the cost of living, ending gender-based violence and femicide, fixing potholes and road maintenance programmes, and growing the economy and creating jobs. She said that during the State of the Province Address, Ms Refilwe Maria Mtshweni-Tsipane, Premier of Mpumalanga, mentioned the major projects will be implemented by Province in the district. In this regard, the planning and design process for the Linah Malatjie Tertiary Hospital in eMalahleni has progressed, with authorisation in terms of Environmental Impact Studies granted, town-planning processes completed, preliminary and concept designs completed, and detailed design on schedule with construction set to commence during the 2023/24 financial year.

Public Works will also build a bridge from Emalahleni City Centre leading to Pine Ridge, Siyanqoba and Verena to improve safety and ease traffic flow in that area. Planning and design hereon will commence in the 2023/2024 financial year. Through the Integrated National Electrification Programme, R110m was secured for the electrification of Siyanqoba in eMalahleni which will commence in the 2023/2024 financial year.

The building of a new Klarinet Primary School has been completed in eMalahleni, and a new Doornkop Primary School is at 87% of its completion stage at Steve Tshwete Local Municipality. There is also a project to rehabilitate Road P95/1 between the Verena crossing and the Gauteng boundary, at Thembisile Hani Local Municipality.

In conclusion, the mayor indicated that the previous Strategic Lekgotla 2022 resolution has been implemented to a level of 72%. Still in progress is the establishment of the Fire Training Academy, a fresh produce market to motivate our emerging farmers to produce fresh products and employment for people with disabilities. Furthermore, the fire services function should remain in the district municipality.