The KZN provincial government through the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs under the leadership of MEC Sipho Hlomuka, is embarking on an unprecedented and ground-breaking intervention aimed at capacitating municipalities to respond to service delivery challenges that have sparked high level of dissatisfaction in communities.
Heavy plant equipment worth over R125 million is to be given to communities by the provincial government to respond to immediate infrastructure needs that in many instances have sparked service delivery protests.
The launch of Operation Khawuleza will be attended by the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, honourable Sihle Zikalala. Operation Khawuleza is the Provincial Government’s quick response to maintaining roads, fixing and maintaining infrastructure and many other service delivery issues. The Provincial Government led by Premier Zikalala, will handover graders, TLB’s, rollers, water tankers, refuse trucks and fire engines to municipalities across the province.
This programme a first of its kind intervention dubbed “Operation Khawuleza” is part of the directive by President Cyril Ramaphosa to attend to immediate infrastructure needs affecting communities.
The equipment that will be rolled out to municipalities comes at no cost and will ensure that municipalities are better able to handle key service delivery issues like the maintenance of roads, which includes the fixing of potholes, and the provision of sanitation and water. “We are committed to working with municipalities as the Constitution compels us to do. We have noted over the past couple of years that this critical sphere of local government is struggling to keep up with the demands of communities. As a response, we have decided to implement this revolutionary programme, which will ensure that municipalities have adequate machinery to be supplied by us so that we can collectively speed up service delivery,” said Hlomuka.
“Through this ambitious programme municipalities within our province are to fix at least 500 potholes a month. This equipment will be closely monitored to ensure that it is utilised effectively and efficiently,” said Hlomuka.
The Programme will be officially launched in Newcastle on Thursday, 19 September 2019 at the Gama Sports Ground, Ward 12, Johnstone, Newcastle at 11 AM.