This, as the South African Local Government Association (Salga) continues to reflect on 20 years of democratic local government. The organisation responsible for local government oversight and ensuring that municipalities deliver on their mandate, has this week shifted its focus to the Ngwathe Municipality and how it has been addressing service delivery issues. Its lack of revenue collection, provision of basic municipal services and infrastructure development are some of the issues that came into the spotlight. 

The association, however, confirms the municipality, together with the Provincial Roads, Police and Transport Department, has so far been able to complete several key roads projects in the areas of Edenville, Heilbron, Koppies, Parys, and Vredefort. 

The statement by Salga comes just days after the MEC for Roads, Police and Transport, Sam Mashinini, told OFM News that several roads infrastructure projects are underway in several rural parts of the province and are expected to be completed by the end of the financial year.

OFM News previously reported on how the municipality is amongst Free State municipalities listed in the Auditor-General's report as those needing urgent intervention due to their escalating debt to service providers.

According to the Water and Sanitation Department, this municipality - alongside Setsoto and Nala - is amongst those that still have an unacceptable sanitation backlog. A presentation by the department before the Parliament last year July, indicated that while water supply is a great challenge in many municipalities such as Maluti-A-Phofung, Ngwathe and Mohokare, these areas and the province at large are also plagued with a mushrooming number of informal settlements where there is inadequate provision of water and sanitation.

OFM News