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Merafong Services Grind To A Halt As Fuel Dries Up

Service Delivery at a Standstill

Service delivery in Merafong has come to a standstill as the municipality has run out of fuel for its vehicles.

Traffic enforcement, power and lighting maintenance, grass cutting, refuse removal and the provision of water via tankers to isolated communities has ceased as the ANC-led council has failed to adequately plan and implement correct supply chain management policies.

Thousands of Merafong’s residents will now be at risk of opportunistic crime, lengthy power outages and in some instances – denied basic human rights such as access to clean drinking water.

Municipal Debt Continues to Climb

This is not the first time that the residents of Merafong have been subjected to the mal-administrative practices of the ANC.

Coupled to this, municipal debt continues to climb with no end in sight.

The MMC’s for Finance and Corporate and Shared services should be hauled before the Municipal Accounts Committee to not only explain how the situation has been allowed to deteriorate, but to provide a recovery plan of exactly how service delivery will be restored.

 

 

 

Media Enquiries:

Ina Cilliers MPL

DA Constituency Head: Merafong

060 556 4344

 

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Merafong Ward Committee Elections Halted

Merafong Local Municipality

The Democratic Alliance in Merafong has learnt that all the ward committee elections scheduled for this coming weekend in Merafong will not be taking place.

This was confirmed by the local IEC who informed the DA that the Speaker of the Merafong local municipality had failed to follow the correct procedure in formally approaching the IEC to handle the election of ward committees, and also failed to provide a budget for the IEC to do so.

The Speaker further neglected to inform Council of the cancellation of the ward committee elections.

This is yet another flagrant abdication of the Constitution by the ANC in Merafong.

Mayor must Set a Firm Date for Fresh Elections

Residents are entitled to representation through their duly elected ward committees and to participate in the governance of their communities. This right is being arbitrarily withheld by an uncaring government.

Further investigations have revealed that the office dealing with ward committee matters has been closed for quite some time now, and all attempts to reach officials have been unsuccessful. An oversight visit revealed a nearly empty parking lot at the municipal offices in Halite Street on Wednesday.

The DA will call an urgent meeting with the Executive Mayor to demand an explanation and set a firm date for fresh elections.

 

 

Media Enquiries
 
 
 
Ina Cilliers MPL
DA Constituency Head: Merafong
060 556 4344
 
Warren Gwilt
Economic Cluster Manager
073 601 6144
 
 
 
 

 

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Merafong Municipality On The Verge Of Financial Collapse

Billing System Offline

The Merafong municipality is on the verge of financial collapse.  For the past three months its billing system has been offline, rendering it unable to collect revenue from debtors.

In a council meeting held on 23 July it was revealed that:

  • As of end June 2015 the municipality has been running a deficit of R33.7 million;
  • Outstanding debtors increased by almost R103 million and now stands at R758 million;
  • Outstanding creditors amounted to over R70 million, of which R55 million is from trade creditors- affecting businesses that do business with the municipality.
  • In the past few months the municipality experienced massive water infrastructure failures, as unattended leaks have caused sinkholes to appear – severely compromising water delivery;
  • Currently Merafong loses up to 52% of its water; and
  • It is estimated that it would cost around R900 million to repair water infrastructure.

Quality of Life

The fact is that Merafong has completely lost the ability to manage its finances and provide quality services to its residents.

If left unchecked, the municipality will soon rack up phenomenal debts with bulk water and electricity suppliers, further compromising people’s quality of life.

While Cooperative Governance MEC Jacob Mamabolo refuses to implement a Section 139(1)(b) intervention, the fact is that the council can and should request assistance in terms of existing legislation.

To this end the DA Merafong caucus leader, Cllr Blackie Zwart, will table a motion calling on council to resolve to request assistance from the West Rand District Municipality and cooperative governance MEC Jacob Mamabolo in terms of:

  • Section 155 of the Constitution;
  • Section 105 of the Municipal Structures Act; and
  • Sections 83 and 88 of the Municipal Systems Act.

The DA will continue to carry out our mandate of oversight and ensure that residents and communities across the Merafong municipality receive quality and decent service delivery.

 

Media Enquiries:

Ina Cilliers MPL

DA Gauteng Constituency Head – Merafong

060 556 4344

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Merafong Water Crisis Now Affecting Emergency Services

Dysfunctional Municipal Services

Dysfunctional municipal services in Merafong have led to the complete destruction of a family home in Carletonville as emergency service workers could not carry out their relief work when the home caught alight.

Upon arrival emergency services could not locate the nearest hydrant as there were no markings on the street lights – which were out of order.

When one was located, the water pressure was too low for fire fighters to douse the flames.

As a result, the home was completely gutted and the family lost all their possessions.

Deteriorating Infrastructure

This incident has highlighted the precarious situation in which Merafong finds itself. Should there be a large scale fire, the municipality will simply not have the means to protect the lives of residents.

More than 52% of water in Merafong is lost every month due to ageing and deteriorating infrastructure, despite the local municipality insisting that it has a water loss management plan.

The DA has, on numerous occasions called on Gauteng Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) MEC, Jacob Mamabolo, for a provincial intervention in terms of Section 139(1)(b) of the Constitution.

Time and time again our requests have been ignored while residents of Merafong are left in desperate need of assistance.

The DA has assisted the family by providing blankets, food and water, however, if the situation in Merafong is not addressed urgently, this could become the norm.

(Pictures available on request)

 

Media Enquiries:

Ina Cilliers MPL
DA Gauteng Constituency Head – Merafong
060 556 4344

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Fochville Secondary School Learners’ Safety Compromised Again

Fochville Secondary School

Learner safety at the newly opened Fochville Secondary School has once again been compromised as pedestrian crossing markings were obliterated by road resurfacing crews.

The school is located along a major provincial road that intersects with the N12.

According to the school’s principal, since the resurfacing of the road started four months ago, five accidents have taken place leaving learners traumatised, and their class mates at increased risk.

School Break Ins

In addition, the school was also broken into around the time the road resurfacing works started, and to date neither the education department nor the Department of Infrastructure Development have made any efforts to repair the damages.

Despite opening its doors in January the school has still not received an allocated budget and parents and teachers are left scrambling for funds to keep the school running.

The failure by the provincial Education and Infrastructure Development departments to coordinate safety measures, like road markings, safety precautions alerting drivers and school safety jeopardizes learners’ right to quality education.

Urgent Intervention

School learners, like every South African citizen, enjoy the right to safe and secure environment, and it is imperative that the provincial government at all times strive to uphold those rights.

Schools should only be opened once all required infrastructure, financial and academic resources are in place, giving learners the opportunity to obtain a quality education and to build a better life.

To ensure that Fochville’s learners will enjoy the safety and security as provided for in our Constitution, I will engage directly with the relevant MECs and their departments, demanding that a pedestrian bridge be built and will submit a petition by the community for urgent intervention measures.

 

Media enquiries:

Ina Cilliers MPL

DA Constituency Head: Merafong

060 556 4344

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Carletonville Hospital without Hot Water

During an oversight visit to Carletonville Hospital yesterday, it was disturbing to learn that the hospital had been without any hot water since the end of January.

Despite reports of contractors being assigned to look into the problem, to date, no clear indication was given of when the problem would be resolved, nor what caused the crisis in the first place.

Boil Water in Kettles

At the moment hospital staff are forced to boil water using kettles and urns to avoid having patients washing with cold water.

The responsibility for the maintenance of health facilities in Gauteng lies with the Department of Infrastructure Development headed by MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, and this department has become notoriously infamous for its uncaring attitude, careless spending, missed deadlines and costly disputes with suppliers.

Restoring Order at Carletonville Hospital

The DA calls on MEC Mayathula-Khoza to ensure that order is restored back to Carletonville Hospital without delay.

The DA will submit written questions to MEC Mayathula-Khoza to determine the causes of this crisis and demand that efforts be stepped up to ensure that hot water is restored as soon as possible.

 

Media enquiries:

Ina Cilliers MPL

DA Constituency Head: Merafong

060 556 4344

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Delayed Electrification Sets Khutsong Ablaze

Residents of Khutsong south, ext. 5, near Carletonville, have taken to the streets, burning tyres and blockading roads over the non-electrification of RDP houses in the area.

Over a thousand RDP units in the area are still without power – despite owners taking occupation more than three years ago.

This is another example of how residents in Merafong have been forgotten by the ANC-led municipality.

In the third quarter of this financial year, only 21% of Merafong’s R294 million capital budget had been spent, and it is likely that residents will continue to suffer at the hands of an uncaring government.

In February of this year, I called on the Gauteng MEC for Local Government, Jacob Mamabolo, to institute a provincial intervention in terms of Section 139(1)(b) of the Constitution and to place Merafong under provincial administration.

To date, there has been no move to by the MEC to take the matter in hand.

As a result of this inaction, the DA has moved to petition for the removal of the Mayor and Municipal Manager before the situation is beyond fixing.

This petition has so far collected 6 000 signatures and is rapidly increasing.

If no action is taken soon, residents of Khutsong ext. 5 will continue to remain on the periphery of society.

Media enquiries:
Ina Cilliers MPL
DA Constituency Head: Merafong
060 556 4344

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