Cape Town - The ANC has welcomed provincial government assistance for the troubled Beaufort West Municipality in the hope that this will address the council’s financial crisis and put it on the path to improved service delivery.
ANC provincial local government spokesperson Cameron Dugmore praised the Western Cape government for resisting the temptation to play politics and instead implementing consensus to solve the issues at the municipality.
This rare praise for the Province follows co-ordinated action last week by Finance MEC David Maynier and his local government counterpart Anton Bredell to put Beaufort West Municipality back on the path to financial sustainability.
Dugmore said: “As the ANC we welcome and support this approach. Our councillors have been involved in this effort to stabilise the financial position in Beaufort West and begin to turn the situation around.”
He said the co-operation would mean that service delivery for the people would improve and long-suffering creditors would begin to see the relief they need.
“To me this looks like an example of the new consensus President Ramaphosa has called for. Congratulations to all involved.”
MEC Maynier approved the financial recovery plan for the Beaufort West Municipality, while MEC Bredell met with Beaufort West’s mayor, Gideon Pietersen (Patriotic Alliance), deputy mayor Lulama Valentia Piti (ANC), the mayoral committee and senior managers of the municipality.
The meeting with Bredell came a month after Pietersen had accused Bredell of playing politics after Bredell launched an investigation into the troubled municipality, citing complaints about poor governance and service delivery failure.
Bredell’s spokesperson Wouter Kriel said: “The meeting was held in a positive spirit, during which the municipality made a comprehensive presentation on the financial challenges being experienced.”
He said detailed discussions, which were held in an open and frank manner, subsequently provided further context to these challenges, identifying solutions to address them.
He said both sides agreed on setting up a task team under the guidance of the acting municipal manager and the local government head of department, with the purpose of developing a support plan, prioritising the most urgent challenges.