Note to Broadcasters: Please find linked soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Cllr Johan Bornman.
The DA in the City of Matlosana Local Municipality, after extensive oversight and consideration of municipal reports, has concluded that the municipality’s service delivery problems stem from a dysfunctional vehicle fleet due to general mismanagement and poor maintenance systems.
A compromised and dysfunctional fleet management system where 262 vehicles out of a fleet of 540 are currently out of service, cannot meet Matlosana’s service delivery needs optimally.
The municipality is unable to deliver the basic services residents deserve without the full complement of municipal vehicles, specifically responding to repair water and sewage leaks, electricity outages, road maintenance, and refuse removal.
The municipal vehicle workshop is also dysfunctional with only 152 of the municipality’s 262 vehicles reported to be at the municipal workshop for repairs, which means that 110 vehicles have been outsourced for repairs. In some instances, municipal vehicles are being held back due to delays in the issuance of certificates of roadworthiness, vehicle registration, and licensing.
As a result, Matlosana frequently leases additional vehicles to respond to service delivery requirements.
The leasing of vehicles and the contracting of service providers to deliver services of repair vehicles result in additional, yet avoidable, financial costs to the municipality. Matlosana is on the verge of financial collapse and cannot afford this financial wastage.
The DA will write to the Mayor, James Tsolela, and Municipal Manager, Lesego Seametso, requesting that they table an urgent plan to address the dysfunctionality in the municipal fleet and vehicle repair workshops. Bringing vehicles back into service must be a priority.
The residents of Matlosana cannot survive another term of ANC’s failed governance. Residents have an opportunity to vote DA in next year’s elections so that we can begin to rebuild what the ANC has destroyed.