Pretoria - The Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Ministry has accepted the surveys released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on financial statistics of municipalities and on service delivery.
Stats SA recently released the “Quarterly Financial Statistics Survey of Municipalities December 2016” and “The State of Basic Service Delivery in South Africa: In-depth analysis of the Community Survey 2016 data”.
COGTA Minister Des van Rooyen said the surveys are important in that they will assist local government to further strengthen its work and interventions geared to addressing any challenges raised by communities in various localities.
He said the surveys provide insight and are key to any targeted interventions that government can put in place to address any challenges or issues raised affecting communities.
The Ministry said Quarterly Financial Statistics Survey of Municipalities December 2016 provides stakeholders with information that will allow them to analyse and assess the state of local government finances in the country.
The income and expenditure of all 257 municipalities for the period 01 October 2016 to 31 December 2016 reflected the consolidated financial performance for the rates and general services, as well as that of the housing and trading services of local government institutions.
“According to the December 2016 release estimates, our figures show that there is a decrease in purchases and sales of electricity and water due to a number of factors,” said the Ministry.
With regards to the Community Survey 2016, the Ministry said the report found that 89.8% of households used piped water, about 63.4% used flush toilets connected to either the public sewerage or to a local septic system, about 63.9% of households receive refuse removal services, and approximately 87.6% of households had access to electricity.
Although tremendous progress has been made over the past few decades in the delivery of basic services, the survey has highlighted areas of concern which require action from local government so that communities can get access to basic services.
“We urge Municipalities to study and appraise themselves with the content of these important surveys about local government as by understanding them, we will go a long way in ensuring that we respond better to the needs of communities,” said the Minister. - SAews.gov.za
