The dreams that the Gauteng Premier, David Makhura, has for mega-cities will remain no more than an illusion for as long as the provincial government keeps turning a blind eye to the mismanagement in municipalities. The district municipalities of Sedibeng and the West Rans are the two biggest culprits in this regard.
The idea of mega-cities was planted in 2005 by the former Gauteng Premier, Sam Shilowa. The FF Plus, however, has always held the opinion that service delivery must be kept as close to grass-roots level as possible. Metro councils and the proposed mega-cities will centralise power and move service delivery even further away from communities, which makes it less accessible.
The underperformance and overspending of the Gauteng Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) are a direct consequence of squandering and unlawful expenses amounting to millions of rand, both on provincial and municipal level.
The fact that more than 50% of the Department's budget is spent on salaries, and not on service delivery, is the biggest problem. The excuse that most of the problems that the province is faced with were passed down from the previous dispensation is no longer a valid excuse.
The financial pressure on ordinary taxpayers to carry the great demand for housing, service delivery and urbanisation is unrealistic and unsustainable.
Makhura's dream for the development of Gauteng must go hand-in-hand with local municipalities and metro councils' Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and budgets so as to prevent great financial losses on both levels of local government.
Makhura stands before a choice, he can either continue to allow poor financial planning and service delivery or he can step in as head of the province and realise his dreams for the benefit of all Gauteng's residents.
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