The premier of the Free State, MaQueen Letsoha–Mathae, visited Matjkhabeng to address the myriad of challenges faced by the Matjhabeng Local Municipality.
Flanked by MEC Saki Mokoena of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) and MEC Jabu Mbalula of the Department of Community Safety, Roads and Transport on Wednesday 4 September, the premier appealed for honesty in relation to the challenges faced by the municipality. She emphasised to those present that the visit was aimed at resolving challenges at the municipality.
“We are not here to fight people, neither are we here to close eyes to an existing problem. What is crystal clear is that there are many problems in Matjhabeng. We must also establish why there are so many challenges, but importantly, find out if these challenges were created by officials and the leadership of the municipality for selfish needs,” said Letsoha–Mathae.
She further encouraged those present to put their fear aside and raise matters for the benefit of the people of Matjhabeng.
“We are aware that some of you might be uncomfortable to air your views because of fear of victimisation but let us not forget that we are here to serve the people; we must overcome that fear. Alternatively, we can have a private conversation because as the leadership of the seventh administration, we have made a commitment to the people of our province that we will make service delivery a priority,” she said.
- Some of the pertinent issues raised in the meeting were: the theft of key water infrastructure;) experienced personnel such as civil engineers resigning in pursuit of greener pastures;) a lack of capacity in the Project Management unit; and) the reappointment of contractors who failed to complete projects
“It is frustrating because even though we called for openness, we are being given misleading reports. We know, for a fact, that some contractors who previously did not complete projects, were appointed for other projects. That is not going to assist us because we are here to try and find solutions which will assist this municipality,” the premier said.
It was, however, announced that despite challenges, progress has been made. Contractors have already been appointed for a total of 34 projects which were earmarked for the 2023-’24 financial year, while 24 projects have been earmarked for the current 2024-’25 year.
Speaking to members of the media, Mokoena, in line with the District Development Model approach, outlined the combined intervention efforts by all spheres of government to speedily address prevailing infrastructure and reticulation network challenges across the municipality.
A staggering two billion rand has been set aside to refurbish a waste water treatment plant, pump stations, and unblock sewer lines – this, over a three-year period. However, immediate interventions have been made to ensure that several identified emergency situations are immediately resolved.
To accelerate and re-enforce the work of the municipality, the provincial government has dispatched engineers from its employment to assist shorten the turnaround time.
