The latest report by Good Governance Africa (GGA) on the state of South African municipalities once again highlights the fact that municipalities can only be restored under the governance of a strong and ethical coalition government – of which the FF Plus is part.
This report along with recent reports by the Auditor-General (AG), the National Treasury (NT), the Human Rights Commission (HRC), the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) – the Blue and Green Drop Reports – and, ironically enough, the ANC-led parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) repeatedly point out the exact same causes of municipal decline.
What stands out time and again are the high levels of corruption and mismanagement in ANC-led municipalities, ANC faction fights, a lack of accountability and a pervasive culture of lawlessness.
Residents of more rural provinces, such as the North West, Free State and Northern Cape, have had to bear the brunt of the ANC’s decline for years. Basic services, such as water and power supply, are frequently interrupted for days on end, while untreated sewage pool in the potholes in the streets.
The rash establishment of centralised municipalities by merging smaller municipalities also sped up the overall decline. Incompetent local ANC politicians and municipal officials’ lack of accountability towards their communities only exacerbated the problem.
The countrywide decline of municipal service delivery will forever be a blemish on the reputation of the ANC.
As part of a professional coalition government, the FF Plus will prioritise restoring work ethics, restoring smaller town municipalities and rebuilding infrastructure in a corruption-free environment.
Voters should use their votes on 29 May to make sure that the ANC is removed from power and replaced by a coalition government, which incorporates the FF Plus’s policy as foundation for rebuilding South Africa.
With the ANC out of the way, we can restore and rebuild.
