Pretoria – The hard work of three KwaZulu-Natal municipalities hasn’t gone unnoticed, as they were part of a select few to receive recognition from the President during the State of the Nation Address (SONA).
KwaZulu-Natal MEC of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Nomusa Dube-Ncube, says her department is pleased by the commendation for Ilembe, Umzinyathi and Zululand District Municipalities by President Jacob Zuma during SONA on Tuesday evening.
“We are humbled by the mention of Ilembe, Umzinyathi and Zululand District Municipalities among only 11 municipalities nationwide for consistently good performance in audits, expenditure on municipal infrastructure grants and service delivery.
“They have done us all proud,” said MEC Dube-Ncube.
The MEC said attention must be placed on underperforming municipalities to turn things around for improved service delivery.
“As much as we rejoice in this achievement, we will not succumb to a false sense of accomplishment. The challenges in many other municipalities are too overwhelming to rest on our laurels as a department, whose mandate is to oversee and support local government,” she said.
She committed her department to doubling its efforts to ensure that all municipalities in KZN improve their performance in audits, expenditure on municipal infrastructure grants and service delivery during this term of government.
“As overwhelming as the challenges our municipalities face, the attention they are receiving from the highest office in the land … means that the government is on top of its game,” said MEC Dube-Ncube. – SAnews.gov.za
