Deputy Minister Namane Dickson Masemola leads second leg of the Free State targeted Ministerial Support and Intervention engagements in Lejweleputswa District

Today, the Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Dr. Namane Dickson Masemola, led the second leg of the Free State targeted Ministerial Support and Intervention engagements with priority districts. Today’s intergovernmental session was hosted by the Lejweleputswa District, subsequent to the Thabo Mofutsanyana District engagement on 19 September 2024.

Lejweleputswe is one of the five (5) districts in the province of the Free State province and has five (5) local municipalities: (1) Matjhabeng; (2) Nala; (3) Masilonyana; (4) Tswelopele; (5) Tokologo. The district has encountered several perennial challenges that continue to drag down the performance of these municipalities.

It is within this context that the engagement led by the Deputy Minister implored the district to reflect on the state of the district and its constituent local municipalities guided by key elements; (1) Political; (2) Governance; (3) Functional MPACS; (4) Finances; (5) LED; (6) Revenues Sources; (7) Procurement and Grant Spending; (8) Vacancies Rate; etc.

Deputy Minister Masemola was joined by the Free State MEC for CoGTA, Mr. Teboho Mokoena in both accounts in keeping with the prescripts of cooperative governance. Participants in these crucial deliberations include District and Local Mayors, Speakers, Members of Mayoral Committees (MMCs), Chief Whips, and senior government officials.

These engagements were convened in line with the principles of intergovernmental relations as espoused by the Constitution and given expression by the District Development Model (DDM). As enjoined by section 154 of the Constitution, CoGTA is deliberately spearheading the drive to support and strengthen municipalities to perform their functions effectively and efficiently.

Local Government among others, is entrusted with the fundamental and noble responsibility of providing an accountable government and sustainable service delivery that enables communities to thrive. Leveraging the instruments of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework, CoGTA is streamlining the coordination of support to make every municipality work apprised of the interrelated and interdependent mandates of each distinctive sphere.

The recent state of local government report and the Auditor-General’s Municipal Audit Outcomes paint a bleak picture in respect of the performance of municipalities. Deputy Minister Dr. Masemola as part of his scene-setting remarks underscored the need to assess the state of each municipality as it pertains to levers of an ideal municipality that comprise the

political stability, sound financial management, good governance, institutional capacity, active public participation, capacitated local economic development, and sustainable delivery of basic services.

Cognisant of the challenges that obtained in various municipalities, the CoGTA leadership collective has sought to comprehensively recalibrate the performance of municipalities by packaging tailor-made support strategies anchored on the collaborative sector-wide approach. At the heart of these integrated support mechanisms is the need to improve the delivery of basic services to communities.

There is an undeniable correlation between the performance of municipalities and the effectiveness of the accountability and compliance ecosystem. To this end, Deputy Minister Dr. Masemola emphasised that to turn around the performance of municipalities political stability and good governance are required to ensure oversight and compliance with the regulatory and compliance environment. Additionally, the municipality must have the technical institutional capacity to perform optimally, especially in relation to water, sanitation, and electricity infrastructure. Finally, the Local Economic Development units should be resourced to create conducive conditions for socioeconomic development and Ward Committees must be meaningful public participation platforms of co-governance.

During his input, MEC Mokoena, indicated that accountability should come from both the elected public representatives and appointed municipal officials.

In his closing address, Deputy Minister Dr. Namane, emphatically urged municipalities to be agents of change for the people of Lejweleputswa. Highlighting that the presentation of municipalities will inform the action plan that will be collaboratively implemented and monitored continuously. The Deputy Minister further requested the district municipality as a logical point of coordination to establish a Service Delivery WarRoom to marshal integrated support district-wide.

These meetings provided us with an opportunity to collectively chart a way forward to find lasting solutions to make every municipality work effectively. The Deputy Minister committed to return to further engage the implementation report.

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