Service delivery task team for Dipaleseng

Friday, 19 February 2010 11:10

A task team will be established in Dipaleseng Local Municipality in Mpumalanga to examine the challenges faced by the community and to monitor ongoing progress.

This decision was taken after a delegation including Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Sicelo Shiceka, visited the area following a resurgence of violent service delivery protests in Balfour.

The team will immediately convene with all national and provincial departments that deal with the specific issues raised by the community.

Minister Shiceka has given the team of government officials and community leaders two months to report back.

He stressed that government will be paying special attention to all those involved in corruption as this was largely to blame for lack of service delivery.

"We will make sure that we do not fail the people of Dipaleseng. Officials who are not prepared to work for the people must change their attitudes or they must ship out.

"We will remove all obstacles that seek to hinder our progress on turning around this municipality. There must be no shifting of goal posts" said Shiceka.

Government has condemned the acts of violence, intimidation, destruction of property, criminality and the attack on foreign nationals that have accompanied the unrests in Balfour, urging police to act against the perpetrators.

Shiceka will keep visiting the area to engage with the community and provide feedback on progress made in dealing with issues raised.

Source: Buanews