By Nomfundo Mbatha and Malebo Pheme
Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Dr Namane Masemola, has vowed to assemble a high-powered, inter-departmental team of engineers and financial experts to take over responsibility for the management of Makhanda’s infrastructure programmes.
This was announced during a Wednesday visit to the city by Masemola and Cogta MEC Zolile Williams. “They will take full charge of the management and the running of this [Makana] Municipality,” Masemola said.
Meanwhile, according to The Daily Dispatch, Cogta spokesperson Pheelo Oliphant confirmed on Thursday that Masemola would return to the city in two weeks. Oliphant said Masemola was assembling highly-qualified engineers from the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (Misa) and the water and sanitation department, as well as financial and supply chain experts from the provincial treasury and Cogta, for deployment at the Makana Municipality.
Oliphant said the National Treasury would be asked to pump in more funds in a bid to deal with Makana’s infrastructure problems.
During the Wednesday meeting, Williams expressed solidarity with the residents who had assembled at City Hall on Wednesday morning. “Your concerns and your protest are justified. There are weaknesses in the municipality and within the government itself that have led to this failure in service delivery. The community is crying about water and other basic services. As someone born here, I feel this deeply. We cannot keep coming back with promises that lead nowhere,” Williams said.
Meanwhile, the deputy minister emphasised the importance of arriving with a full understanding of the problem. “We didn’t want to come to you with a half-report,” he said. “We wanted to meet with the committee first, engage directly, and get a complete picture before addressing the community.”
“No one will influence us against the community,” he stated. “The mayor or the speaker cannot dictate what we hear. Our duty is to listen to the people, the voters,” he said.
Williams assured residents that the deputy minister would soon return with concrete instructions and actions to tackle the core problems. “We are not here to give vague answers. We will return to the community after fully engaging with all stakeholders, and we will present a comprehensive report.”
Community leaders said they welcomed Masemola’s frankness but stressed that words must now be followed by visible change.
