The Office of Deputy President David Mabuza says it has noted the unfortunate and misleading statement issued by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in the Free State.

This comes after COSATU accused Mabuza’s office of neglect amid ongoing water and electricity outages in Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality and the provision of other basic services to the residents of Phuthaditjhaba and surrounding areas.

“While the frustrations on the ground as a result of the disruption of basic services and livelihoods are understandable, the statement by COSATU bears misrepresentations around this matter,” the Deputy President Office’s statement read on Wednesday.  

“It lacks basic facts on the chronology of events and the work that has been done in dealing with issues of provision of basic services in the municipality.”

In its statement, the Deputy President’s Office said COSATU “unfairly” attacks the second-in-command and disregards ongoing negotiations towards the finalisation of the Active Partnering Agreement between Eskom and the municipality. 

“This agreement is aimed at assisting the municipality with the maintenance of infrastructure and revenue collection to enable payment of the bulk electricity account and reduce escalating debt while restoring reliable electricity and water supply.”

The Deputy President’s statement further stated that the “unfortunate” assertions lack appreciation for intergovernmental relations and their complexities.

“The provincial and national CoGTA departments have a constitutional mandate to intervene in the event of a municipality’s collapse. However, the legislation is also clear on a need to first identify the challenges facing a municipality in order to provide the necessary support, before rushing to interventions.”

In the case of Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality, the Office said the role of the convener is to bring together the key players to look at the best ways to assist the municipality to get back to full operation so that it can serve the people and meet the needs of the community.

“That is why the Deputy President began by holding engagements with the Premier and the Municipal Council at the time, including various local stakeholders, community representatives, business leaders, labour leaders and traditional leaders.”

In these engagements, the Office said it was established that the municipality had a myriad of challenges that had brought municipal operations to a halt, leading to sporadic protests and unrest.

Resolving challenges

Meanwhile, Mabuza has also appointed a multi-sectoral team of technocrats under the auspices of the then Eskom Political Task Team to facilitate a resolution on the challenges in the municipality as raised by Parliamentarians.

“This intergovernmental process entailed a series of engagements by the three spheres of government to implement measures to mitigate service delivery challenges in Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality, while a sustainable solution to the municipal debt was being finalised.”

The adopted immediate intervention measures and roadmap to stabilise the situation and address governance and operational deficits include an electricity supply improvement framework and a better mechanism to deal with the Eskom debt.

In addition, government is also looking at a water supply intervention framework, revitalisation of the industrial parks and special economic zone, and promoting commercial, solidarity economy, and informal business initiatives.

“Interventions on the electricity supply are at an advanced stage, including the construction of a new substation.”

These efforts both at political and technical levels were premised on fostering collaboration between government and social partners in order to get the municipality to full operation.

“The Deputy President remains committed to the process, as evidenced by the three visits to the municipality with a delegation that included the Premier of the Free State, members of the provincial and national governments, and senior executives of Eskom and the affected water boards.”

Source: South African Government News Agency