MyPE

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Local government is collapsing

By

Dear MyPE

Premier Oscar Mabuyane can no longer lament the state of collapsing local government in the Eastern Cape. He must stop wringing his hands and take firm action.

On Thursday last week [4 February 2021] the Shadow MEC for Local Government and Traditional Affairs, Vicky Knoetze MPL, moved a motion in the provincial legislature’s sitting, to force the hand of the province and take decisive action.

Our challenge to the ANC – put your solutions on the table and we will put ours! Where the DA governs, South Africa works!

We have to construct a way forward. The ANC cannot turn a blind eye to the collapse of local government, as it did to state capture.

In the Eastern Cape local government is collapsing:

  • Eskom is owed over R2 billion
  • 14 Municipalities are financially unsustainable
  • Eight municipalities got disclaimers in the last audit outcome
  • Towns and cities are constantly batting with electricity and water outages

The provincial government needs to step in and take over where their ANC deployed cadres have failed!

A capable state would never have allowed local municipalities to reach these levels in the first place.

The consequences for the people of the Eastern Cape are too horrific. Businesses and residents from across the province are being forced to step in and fix the ANC’s mess!

In contrast to this, the DA run Kouga Municipality remains a pillar of good governance. In 2019/20 year the municipality fixed 15 378 potholes. This is something many municipalities can only dream of!

The root cause of the collapse of the local government in the Eastern Cape is cadre deployment and contracts given to connected cronies.

We need to stop the rot and take the Eastern Cape forward!

Regards

Bobby Stevenson

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Port Elizabethan

This author is a 'catch-all' for occasional articles and letters written to MyPE. The Author of each article can be found in the signature at the bottom of each individual article.