By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
David Mahlobo, who chaired the local government commission at the ANC NEC lekgotla said, the commission on infrastructure development, local government and service delivery had looked at various issues affecting service delivery, particularly in local government.
“We have looked at issues of theft, vandalism, including political killings within the water sector, and we have to work with law enforcement agencies. There are interruptions that are being made whether in terms of procurement, vandalism of infrastructure, and there are a lot of organised criminality that are stopping our water projects,” he said.
On Monday, a Rand Water executive, identified as Teboho Joala, and the water entity’s chief shared services officer, was killed along with his bodyguard in view of learners at the Zakariyya Park Community Hall, south of Johannesburg, on Monday.
Mahlobo warned any vandalism of infrastructure is akin to economic sabotage.
“As much as the tanks are not a desirable mechanism, in the meantime, we will continue to use tankering. With these tanks, people must know that the water is not for sale.
“The water must be of good quality, and no one must be affected by the water because someone has thrown foreign objects there, that is very important.”
NEC member Parks Tau, who is also the deputy minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs said, that “there’s a record of the ANC and its performance”.
He said the ANC government was committed to its people, adding that no one should be denied access to water, sanitation, and electricity because they cannot afford it.
That is why the government introduced measures like free basic water and free basic electricity so that even low-income households could access water, sanitation, electricity, and so on, said Tau.’
Regarding the intervention plans to repair potholes and maintain roads, Tau said the ANC agreed to reprioritise budgets in municipalities, including the grants, noting that the process has already started, but the ANC wanted it accelerated.
The report on loadshedding prevention measures, he said, had given the ruling party hope, but local municipalities’ involvement as electricity distributors needed to be increased.
The ANC is looking to act with urgency to tackle these key areas as it gears up for the 2024 elections, which are considered as important as the country’s first democratic elections in 1994.
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Video Courtesy of MYANC.