After three months there is still no signs that the national intervention team is making progress with service delivery in the Mangaung Metro.
The Mangaung DA Caucus held a press conferense on Monday (18/07) giving an outline of practical steps they want to take following the failure of the team’s progress in the service delivery crisis thus far.
David Masoeu, the DA Mangaung Caucus Chair, said as opposition they do not want to criticise. “We want to assist the municipality in terms of the law to make a positive contribution to the lives of residents,” he said at the conference. “We want the national intervention team to work.”
Johan Pretorius, DA Manaung Caucus Leader said: “We are very disappointed in the response from the minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and her intervention team.” She answered questions put forward by the DA’s member of parlement Werner Horn on 10 June.
“The minister claims that limitations of overtime and repairs and maintenance of critical service delivery fleet and equipment is ‘prioritiesed’. In her own answer and in reality it is evident that no urgency exist,” Pretorius said.
“Very little improvement is experienced by residents in respect of the quality of services related to roads infrastructure, water leakages, refuse removal and solid waste management.”
He says although some members of the intervention team understands the steps that have to be taken and has the skills and knowledge to spearhead the process, the political interference of senior local ANC members hampers and prevents these steps.
The DA in Mangaung has undertaken to formally write to the Dlamini-Zuma with a request that she again visits Mangaung in order to deal with the continued political interference and the attempts to subvert the work of the intervention team.
Follow up questions will also be put to the minister on a turnaround plan with workable action steps and clear target dates of all the interventions that are essential to workable sollutions.
“Lastly we will ask our members of the standing commitee on Public Accounts Committee (Scopa) of the National Assembly to request this committee to do oversight of the efficiancy of the intervention plan and the implementation thereof.”
