The DA in Victor Khanye Local Municipality (VKLM) will once again submit a motion in terms of Section 51 of the Rules of Order of Council to put pressure on the Municipal Manager, Thabo Mashabelo, to rectify the current service delivery crisis.
Service delivery in Victor Khanye is non-existent and the Municipal Manager needs to be held accountable. The municipality is failing its residents dismally.
Non-functional street lights, potholes, ungraded roads, sewage leaks and ongoing water interruptions are the order of the day. The municipality’s manager and his directors are informed daily of these issues but the pleas fall on deaf ears.
With the start of the 2022/2023 financial year on the 1st July and increases in tariffs, residents of this small growing town are yet to receive value for their money.
Below is a summary of the 2022/2023 VKLM budget:
- The Operating budget R552 867 591
- Municipal Infrastructure Grant R27 976 000
- District funding R90 100 000
- Water Service Infrastructure Grant R20 000 000
- Operating funding (VKLM own funds) R 4 100 000
The DA finds it contradicting that on Saturday 3 September, ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Botleng Township as part of the party’s Letsema service delivery campaign. The president was captured attempting to fill a pothole in the location, something his own ANC municipality is failing.
On the other hand, MEC for Public Works, Roads and Transport, Mohita Latchminarain arrived in Delmas with her team to fill potholes just before the President’s visit. But municipal roads had potholes filled.
However, some provincial roads in VKLM have been neglected for far too long, these include the D840, PWV19, D840, K151 (R50), D1550, D1255, D2285 and the P29-1.
The municipality has also failed to attend to the ongoing issue of illegal businesses, hawkers and illegal posters covering traffic signs. Municipal officials must do their work and if not, there must be consequence management.
The DA will submit a motion that will ensure that the Municipal Manager address these issues. The people of VKLM deserve an accountable government.