UThukela District Municipality Chairperson for Water, Sanitation and Technical Services Portfolio Committee, Councillor MM Khoza, and his team are indeed on a mission to turn the wheel of service delivery around as evidenced by the intensified pace in resolving issues that hinder service delivery and making sure that all municipal resources are being maintained and monitored properly to accelerate service delivery.
Recently, the team discovered two vehicles, that belong to the municipality, abandoned at a local panel beater’s workshop. A navy blue Mercedes Benz which was used by the Mayor in 2011 was brought in for repairs at the local panel beater after it was involved in an accident and has since been collecting dust. According to the dealer, the car has been in his shop since 2011 for mechanical repairs. He said he did his part of the job which was to fix the vehicle. Since then he claimed he had been in contact with uThukela as the municipality had an outstanding amount that was due. The dealer explained that he even asked the management if he should rather pay the bank and keep the car, they reverted back to him by stating that they were still going to have a meeting with their superiors for resolution. That amount has not been settled since they last spoke and he was even having a good mind of scrapping the vehicle since their meetings didn’t yield the expected results. The management of that era appeared to be uncooperative as the dealer was getting sent from pillar to post every time he was trying to reach a consensus with them. Another municipal vehicle belonging to uThukela’s Finance Department was also recovered at the same panel beater. The vehicle was involved in an accident in June 2021 and it was brought in for repairs as well. It was fixed and is awaiting payment from the municipality. “This poor management from the Fleet Department delays service delivery to the people as we have municipal vehicles being held at panel beaters’ workshops. As it is, there hasn’t been any report that clarifies this kind of negligence and irregular performance from the said department. We will continue resolving such issues to make sure that we meet the basic needs of our communities and we are committed to getting to the bottom of this,” concluded Cllr Khoza.
