The City of Tshwane is in the grip of serious problems not only limited to leadership changes but also relating to the provision of basic services to communities and the governance of its departments.
This much is evidenced by reports tabled before the sitting of the council that saw the ousting of former mayor Cilliers Brink last week. For example, a report by the community safety oversight committee, which we reported on last week, revealed the Tshwane metro’s police academy is in a state of neglect while fire stations are falling apart.
But the damning findings of the committee, which conducted an in-loco visit to the academy and fire stations, will now wait until a new executive is announced to get accountability. This is because the removal of Brink last week means his entire mayoral committee was also dissolved.
The committee report revealed that the Tshwane Metro Police Department collected R302m in revenue this year but its facilities, especially the academy, were in disrepair.
The academy is housed inside the Tshwane Leadership and Management Academy in Pretoria West.
Committee members detailed how fire hydrants were not serviced, door handles were falling apart, cameras were not operational, and no cleaning chemicals and toilet paper were in bathrooms nor were fridges and kettles working in the kitchens. As a result of some of the problems the canteen at the academy has been closed and training modules have not been completed.
Further to this, other reports also tabled during last week’s sitting have detailed how infrastructure projects such as the provision of water to communities have been delayed or stalled.
The state of the metro’s housing units in some areas was also said to be in such a poor state that sewers were blocked, pipes leaking and ablution facilities deteriorating. These, according to the reports, were affecting the quality of life for residents who withheld payments for services as a result.
These issues and other problems facing the City of Tshwane today, including the municipality’s debt to Eskom and Rand Water, indicate that the instability of leadership has been to the detriment of its citizens.
What needs to change in Tshwane is more than just a new mayor but fixing the broken governance to rebuild trust with communities where service delivery has been in a steady decline.
SowetanLIVE
SOWETAN SAYS | Time to fix chaotic Tshwane
Image: Werner Hills
The City of Tshwane is in the grip of serious problems not only limited to leadership changes but also relating to the provision of basic services to communities and the governance of its departments.
This much is evidenced by reports tabled before the sitting of the council that saw the ousting of former mayor Cilliers Brink last week. For example, a report by the community safety oversight committee, which we reported on last week, revealed the Tshwane metro’s police academy is in a state of neglect while fire stations are falling apart.
But the damning findings of the committee, which conducted an in-loco visit to the academy and fire stations, will now wait until a new executive is announced to get accountability. This is because the removal of Brink last week means his entire mayoral committee was also dissolved.
The committee report revealed that the Tshwane Metro Police Department collected R302m in revenue this year but its facilities, especially the academy, were in disrepair.
The academy is housed inside the Tshwane Leadership and Management Academy in Pretoria West.
Committee members detailed how fire hydrants were not serviced, door handles were falling apart, cameras were not operational, and no cleaning chemicals and toilet paper were in bathrooms nor were fridges and kettles working in the kitchens. As a result of some of the problems the canteen at the academy has been closed and training modules have not been completed.
Further to this, other reports also tabled during last week’s sitting have detailed how infrastructure projects such as the provision of water to communities have been delayed or stalled.
The state of the metro’s housing units in some areas was also said to be in such a poor state that sewers were blocked, pipes leaking and ablution facilities deteriorating. These, according to the reports, were affecting the quality of life for residents who withheld payments for services as a result.
These issues and other problems facing the City of Tshwane today, including the municipality’s debt to Eskom and Rand Water, indicate that the instability of leadership has been to the detriment of its citizens.
What needs to change in Tshwane is more than just a new mayor but fixing the broken governance to rebuild trust with communities where service delivery has been in a steady decline.
SowetanLIVE
WATCH | Motion of no confidence in Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink
Tshwane Metro Police Academy in a state of neglect
WATCH | Brink warns that motion of no confidence will bring chaos and political instability
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