Different municipalities across the province have raised concerns about bad infrastructure in their municipalities during a MUNMEC meeting with the North West MEC for the Department of Public Works and Roads, Gaoage Oageng Molapisi, that was held in Klerksdorp in the City of Matlosana Local Municipality on Friday the 19th of May 2023. Mayors, Municipal Managers, Members of the Mayoral Committees in different Municipalities, and other stakeholders were part of this meeting.
Ratlou Local Municipality’s acting Municipal Manager, Dr OuCharlie Mothupi, said they are dilapidated projects in his municipality and are also facing challenges of water, roads, and bridges that they would like the department to help them with. He further said that as the municipality, they also have to improve in terms of the MIG infrastructure grant and how they will implement the allocated infrastructure grant. “We had a big challenge as Ratlou Municipality of not using the allocated budget for infrastructure in the 2022/2023 financial year, that is why we had to change our plans for this coming financial term of 2023/2024, we want to improve as we’ve spent seven percent from the total allocated budget”, he said.
Member of the Mayoral Committee responsible for the Department of Engineering and Technical Services in Dr Ruth Segomotsi said road infrastructure is the main problem in their municipality, and they are happy about the outcomes of the meeting because they believe that they will overcome some of their challenges as the department has committed to help. “The department has committed to attend about six roads over twenty-kilometre roads in Dr RSM, we also want to appreciate what the department and SANRAL are doing in our District,” he said.
SANRAL’s regional manager in the Northern Region, Progress Hlahla, said the MUNMEC meeting was a great event in terms of showcasing the work that they are planning as SANRAL in terms of the national roads across the province and sharing with all stakeholders on what they can expect in the next few years. He also indicated that they appreciate all the concerns raised, and they think there are many areas of cooperation they can explore together with the Executive Mayors of Municipalities and the province's leadership. “There are concerns around access to SANRAL’s projects, getting more training on how to get a tender for several projects, and ensuring that when we employ SMMEs in our projects, they need to be local. The MEC has also requested to be provided with more details of who are the actual beneficiaries on our projects, so in future engagements, we are looking forward to sharing with him some of that information to put at ease concerns raised in today’s meeting as to whether we bring SMMEs from other provinces or we can empower those that are at a local level,” he said.
The MEC for the Department of Public Works and Roads in the North West Gaoage Molapisi said the MUNMEC meeting is essential because that’s where the MEC can meet with MMCs responsible for infrastructure in all the municipalities around the province, where they can share with these Councillors on the projects and programmes that they are implementing in the department. This platform is meant to empower Councillors on what the department is doing to implement its 2023/2024 financial year plan. "Municipalities budget are commencing very soon, where mayors are in the process of conducting their IDP, and we are also presenting our budget soon, so we need to share with our councillors that in as far as roads that we will be constructing or re-gravelling, share with them about these roads and when are we going to commence with the projects,” he stated.
Molapisi also indicated that the current Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) is ending, and they will take the new intake of EPWP. He said that in the coming intake, they would check all the challenges of the past EPWP group and how to correct them. On the matter of potholes, MEC Molapisi said the launch of City without Potholes in Mahikeng two weeks ago indicates that they are very much vigorous in addressing issues of potholes in the province.
“This is not only meant for Mahikeng, but the strategy that we are developing is to devolve more powers in terms of the delegation to the district level so that the same approach that is taken by SANRAL, where there are contractors who can ensure that on a much longer period, there will be people who can maintain our roads,” he said.
MEC Molapisi is expected to table the department’s budget vote and policy speech for the 2023/2024 financial year before the North West Provincial Legislature next Tuesday, the 30th of May 2023.
