By JN Reporter
Free State MEC for Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs, Saki Mokoena, has come out all guns blazing against “dysfunctional” municipalities in the province.
This is after he conceded - during the tabling of his departmental budget vote on Friday - that the state of some of our municipalities is far from ideal.
Mokoena warned that the department recommit itself to spare no effort to ensure that municipalities provide basic services to the people of the Free State.
“The state of some of our municipalities remains concerning. We must be the first ones to concede that the state of some of our municipalities is far from ideal. I hear that municipalities don't like to be identified as "dysfunctional" and would rather use cosy terms like "distressed municipalities." We believe that we should call things as they are. We can't call a "spade" a "garden tool"; a "spade" is a "spade." "Dysfunctional is dysfunctional,” said Mokoena.
According to the last assessment of the State of Local Government, as done in 2021, 12 out of our 23 municipalities in the Free State are deemed to be in a state of "dysfunction."
The observation was an outcome of the assessment of municipalities based on five (5) strategic pillars, which included political stability and governance, sound administration, provision of services, sound financial administration, and local economic development.
However, Mokoena presented to the house a strategy he believes will turn around the fortunes of the municipalities in the province.
He said that “as the department, we have developed what we call the 'Municipal Support Improvement Plan (MSIP)'. This plan is based on the mission of our existence, which is to support, monitor, and intervene in the affairs of the municipalities."
He further announced that the department is in the process of developing a "Notice of Compliance", which he says is going to be a directive to municipalities to direct them to improve their performance based on our assessment of their state.
Meanwhile, the department has been allocated R447.914 million for the 2025/26 financial year which is a 7 percent increase from the 2024/25 financial year allocation.
