SPEECHES

Ladies and gentlemen, we deliver our 3rd budget and IDP more determined to make the muchneeded change in our communities for the elected term of office.

We take note of the state of the organization we have inherited more than 2years ago and will always seek to improve the governance for the better. We are aware of the budget shortfall due to low payment culture of communities, distribution losses of services, illegal connections to our services and illegal land grabs.

This situation is further compounded by poor to non-payment for services despite continued service delivery with limited resources. The New Council through its Council Meets the People we made the communities aware of this and pleaded for improved services payment particularly in the following: – Boichoko, Postdene, Newtown, Stasie, White City, Carnation, and Maranteng.
On the other hand, the new Council has inherited various bulk and link service delivery intervention projects taking place within the strategic catalytic impact project scope called Mix typology Human Settlement Bulk and Link Service for 5215 units. This takes place within the background of the parallel process of the 12 billion Redstone Solar and R7 Billion Kumba Kapstevel Investment that created additional population growth and pressure for the municipal service delivery challenge.
However, continue to deliver the basic services to the people as required and implemented most of the infrastructure projects through the assistance of our social partners as well as the mines.
As New Council we are committed to institute a turnaround intervention improves the municipal situation and facilitate development that is required. It is required of the municipality to take advantage of the national development trajectory and leverage on national government economic development agenda. The municipality should embark on industrialisation of the municipality through government programmes like Mining Towns Regeneration, Small Town Regeneration, Strategic Industrial Plans, Industrial Policy Action Plan, Manufacturing Development Act, and the National Industrial Policy Framework.
The municipality should express itself explicitly on how it is going to leverage on these programmes to leave the mine dependency shackles. In its endeavour to develop, our development systems should not leave behind skills development, local SMME development and promotion of local economies. This IDP cycle should see serious interventions through discussions with various stakeholders so to ensure synergy between the education sector and the markets.
Spatial settings in our municipality is displeasing as it is still perpetuating the apartheid setup, i.e. previously disadvantaged areas are planned as RDP areas where amenities are not aligned to facilitate integration. Moving forward spatial impressions should integrate our communities and create equal access to economic activities. Our LED should move away from project-based initiatives rather create conducive environment for economy to strive. LED should filter in all the development projects of the municipality and Supply Chain Management should be a key stakeholder to economic transformation.

Back to basics formed cornerstone of our service delivery. This meant Batho Pele became the fundamental principle to service delivery. Customer Care and improvement on turn- around time to customer queries and improved maintenance planning. This included provision of basic service, water, wastewater management, sanitation, establishment of customer care service, replacement of broken streetlights, management of solid waste, etc.
Public Participation:
This has been the biggest challenge to our planning process, stakeholders are not participating and do not attend meetings when called to meetings. New strategies need to be developed to encourage sectoral participation in our planning process.
In conclusion must ensure we build an organization pinned on sound financial principles and continue to encourage private sector to create jobs and therefore fight the triple challenge of poverty, inequality an unemployment. We must improve on what our predecessors left behind and build on a solid foundation going forward.

Thank you.

Cllr English, H
Mayor, Tsantsabane Local Municipality