Mpumalanga CoGTA

POLICY AND BUDGET SPEECH

SUMMARY

MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs in Mpumalanga, Ms BP Shiba tabled the Department’s Policy and Budget Speech in June this year, focusing on service delivery improvement, support for municipalities and the traditional leadership in Mpumalanga.

The service delivery improvement covers the period between 2016 and 2019, and the support mechanisms will be implemented in the 2021-22 financial year. The summary of the speech is as follows:

• The number of households with access to water increased from 1 090 892 to 1 134 864.

• The number of households with access to flush toilets(sanitation) increased from 607 082 to 848 484 in the same period.

• Access to electricity was increased from 1 123 038 to 1 200 132 for the last five years.

• The number of households with access to waste removal declined from 594 892 to 499 500. As a remedy, the Municipal Infrastructure Grant(MIG) framework has been revised to allow municipalities to procure solid waste removal trucks through their MIG allocation to improve access to refuse removal.

For water intervention, MEC Shiba stated the following:

• Aging and dilapidated infrastructure will be prioritized and addressed. In addition, the exponential sprawling of legal and illegal settlements, as well as lack of budget allocation of maintenance infrastructure, will be given attention.

• In the MIG expenditure R986 million was prioritized for water and sanitation.

MEC Shiba highlighted a good expenditure of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) by the majority of municipalities in Mpumalanga, giving hope that infrastructure challenges will be addressed, for the improvement of service delivery.

• Many municipalities were able to spend 100% of their MIG expenditure with an exciting 83% performance in this regard. However, the Department will assist Dipaleseng, Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme and Govan Mbeki as severely affected municipalities.

• Partnering with the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA), the Department of Water and Sanitation, and the DBSA supported PPMU in the Department, the challenges of water and sanitation will be reduced.

• The Rand Water Board is also being considered to improve the operations and maintenance of our Treatment Plants and to train personnel controllers to meet the standards and classification grading.

Through the support of the DBSA, the Department will initiate processes of reviewing Spatial Development Frameworks (SDFs) of Nkangala, Thembisile Hani, Dr JS Moroka, Victor Khanye, Emalahleni, and Emakhazeni municipalities.

The Department has completed a Spatial Land Use Management for the Lekwa Municipality and also committed to supporting the Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme, Dipaliseng, and Bushbuckridge municipalities to finalize their land use scheme as required by SPLUMA.

MEC Shiba expressed support by the Department for the success of the Local Government Elections to be held on 27 October 2021, through the establishment of the District and Provincial Task Teams, to ensure that the voting stations have access roads, water, electricity, and network connectivity.

MEC Shiba stated that the focus for municipalities will be on institutional and administrative capacity through the recruitment and filling of critical posts such as Municipal Managers, Chief Financial Officers, Director Corporate Services, Director Technical Services, Director Community Services, and Director Development and Planning.

MEC Shiba announced the decision to dissolve Lekwa Municipality by the cabinet on 12 May 2021, with the appointment of the Administrator, Mr Johann Mettler, who has vast and rich experience, knowledge, and expertise. She stated the decision to pursue good governance was completed through the implementation of investigations of section 106 (1) (b) of the Local Government Municipal System Act, 2000, in Govan Mbeki, Lekwa, Dr JS Moroka, Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme and that the outcomes of those investigations was handed over to the Municipal Councils.

MEC Shiba announced the proclamation of the Customary Initiation Act, No.2 of 2021 by President Ramaphosa, on 4 June 2021, to prevent fatalities in the practice of Ingoma, through the establishment of the Provincial Initiation Coordinating Committee (PICC).

MEC Shiba emphasized the Department’s commitment to support poverty alleviation initiatives in rural areas, through the Agrarian Revolution and Invest-Rural Master Plan. The Invest-Rural Master Plan pays special attention towards the development in agriculture, agro-processing, mining, manufacturing, land development, and retailing, while the Agrarian Revolution focuses on identification of land for agricultural development and farming purpose.

MEC Shiba stated that the focus for municipalities will be on institutional and administrative capacity through the recruitment and filling of critical posts