GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Velenkosini Hlabisa, is in George today at an extended district coordinating forum meeting to gain insight into the state of local government in the Garden Route district.
The meeting, hosted by the Western Cape Department of Local Government, started at the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) this morning and draws to a close this afternoon.
Following a presentation by Garden Route Mayor Andrew Stroebel to give an overview of the district as a whole, local mayors and municipal managers had the opportunity to put forward the biggest challenges they are grappling with.
Some of the issues highlighted were in the areas of attracting skilled personnel and requests for waivers to allow senior managers to continue in positions past 65 years of age, collection of rates and taxes, funding for capital projects and aging and insufficient infrastructure.
Hlabisa said his department has taken a deliberate decision to reach out, listen carefully, and intervene in a meaningful way. “Our goal is to understand the issues on the ground and remove the barriers that are hindering service delivery and development.”
Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa.
His department intends to ensure that municipalities are functional and deliver services and effective collaboration across the three spheres of government is needed.
Hlabisa said various of the issues raised during the meeting will be addressed in the White Paper on Local Government that is being reviewed. One of the most concerning issues is insufficient grant funding where “one size fits all” for urban and rural municipalities, that have very different revenue bases.
He announced an extension of the deadline for public participation in the review process of the White Paper from today, 30 June, to 31 July to allow more opportunity for input.
Western Cape local government minister, Anton Bredell, said a lot of the issues in municipalities have to do with a lack of leadership and management. "We must be honest about this, otherwise we are never going to solve it. I hope that the new generation of people sitting in this room will tackle that.
"Let's have the thorough, and deep and uncomfortable discussions. At the end of the day we want to serve our communities."
Sport Minister Gayton McKenzie.
Also in attendance was the national minister of sport, Gayton McKenzie, who also stressed the importance of putting political differences aside to cooperate for the sake of the country’s people. He said the responsible way in which George Municipality spent funds his department had donated will ensure that more will come their way.
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