The FF Plus's insistent requests to the Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Lebogang Maile, to replace the administrator of the Emfuleni Local Municipality (Evaton, Sebokeng, Vaal Oewer, Vanderbijl Park, Vereeniging) have finally borne fruit as Gilberto Martins was recently appointed as the new administrator.
Last year, the FF Plus asked Maile numerous times to replace the incompetent Willi Billa, who had been appointed in June 2020, with an expert in the field of local government management.
Although Martins has limited experience in local management, the FF Plus will grant him a fair opportunity to implement a turn-around strategy for Emfuleni.
Martins has the mammoth task on hand to bring service delivery in Emfuleni back up to standard and the FF Plus recommends that his first step should be to replace incompetent cadres in the Municipality with expert officials who are able to turn service delivery around.
Billa's term as administrator of Emfuleni was characterised by serious power outages, caused by broken power cables, which left places like Three Rivers without power for nearly a month, municipal bank accounts that were frozen, service providers that were not paid, poor to no service providers, sewage dumping etcetera.
Martins' replacement of Billa may offer Emfuleni residents some temporary relief, but the best and only permanent solution to the Municipality's service delivery and financial problems would be to oust the incompetent ANC and replace it with an accountable municipal government. The local government elections, which will take place later this year, will offer voters the opportunity to do just that.
The FF Plus in Emfuleni will continue to do its duty towards loyal taxpayers and will also do everything in its power to ensure that residents get the services that they pay for.
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