Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister, Zweli Mkhize, will today officially welcome a group of young graduates in the fields of engineering, project and construction management. The group consists of 93 graduates who are to be deployed to 55 low-capacity municipalities across the country, including the Free State.

The municipalities of Mangaung, Maluti-A-Phofung, Mafube, Masilonyana, and Letsemeng in the Free State are amongst  the troubled municipalities currently benefiting from the technical support teams. These consist of engineers, town planners, and provincial managers that were dispatched to various provinces last year in August by Mkhize. The teams are expected to help stabilise these municipalities, help them improve infrastructure, service delivery and find means to generate income.

In his meeting with MECs from the different province last week, MKhize, expressed concerned over the number of municipalities that still fail to pay their debts and not spending as much as they are expected to on their infrastructure capital expenditure .

He said failure to spend money on infrastructure leads to many of the service delivery issues faced by many municipalities, and is hopeful the teams dispatched to the different province will be of great help.

He warned municipalities that the Provincial Executive Council may intervene in terms of Section 139 of the Constitution when a municipality cannot fulfil an executive obligation in terms of the Constitution.

OFM News