The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) condemns the Govan Mbeki Local Municipality (Bethal, Charl Cilliers, Embalenhle, Evander, Kinross, Leandra, Secunda, Trichardt, Emzinoni) for its failure to provide basic services to its residents.
The latest incident – where municipal workers instructed Secunda and Bethal residents to purchase power cables before their electricity supply could be restored –points to a completely dysfunctional administration.
The municipal Electricity Department’s workers informed residents that the Municipality does not have any power cables in stock and that they need to procure the cables themselves before any repairs can be done.
It is unacceptable to expect taxpayers, who are already overtaxed and under immense financial pressure, to shell out even more for what is legally defined as a basic service.
Sections 152 and 153 of the Constitution, as well as the Local Government Municipal Systems Act, clearly stipulate that sustainable service delivery is a core responsibility of every municipality.
In the Freedom Front Plus’s view, the current situation constitutes a direct violation of these provisions.
Poor planning, budgetary incompetence and a lack of proper inventory management have left residents, literally and figuratively, in the dark.
An official letter was sent to the Municipal Manager, Mr Elliot Maseko, pointing out that this practice is unacceptable.
The Freedom Front Plus will keep the pressure on until accountability and proper service delivery are restored.