Note to Editors: Find attached soundbite in English by DA North West Spokesperson on Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Freddy Sonakile.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in North West will write to the MEC for the Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Mmoloki Cwaile, requesting him to urgently address the dysfunctional municipal portfolio committees within the province. (See attached list here)
The portfolio committees are responsible to oversee the work of municipalities and therefore the consequences of this dysfunctionality are the late detection of challenges and malfeasance.
All North West municipalities are governed by the ANC and the ongoing factional battles are paralyzing optimal management and service delivery.
The portfolio committees are chaired by ANC members and, in instances such as Mahikeng Local Municipality, members of the Executive Council are chairpersons of these committees. This means that they are effectively overseeing their own work, which is completely irregular and unacceptable.
The DA can reliably reveal that, since end of last year, the portfolio committees of Maquassi Hills, Mahikeng, Lekwa-Teemane, Kgetlengrivier, Ditsobotla, Ramotshere Moiloa, Matlosana, JB Marks, Tswaing and the district municipalities of Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati, Ngaka Modiri Molema and Dr Kenneth Kaunda have not had one meeting this year.
The ANC has made it loud and clear that it is not prepared to prioritise clean governance and if it wasn’t able to achieve this in 27 years, it never will.
The DA’s track record in the Western Cape proves that it can fix local governance in North West.