Dlamini-Zuma details new governance model as non-viable municipalities increase
Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma says government is working on the roll-out of its new District Development Model.
The model is meant to help failing municipalities.
Dlamini-Zuma told the members of the National Council of Provinces on Tuesday that the model would address several factors that cause dysfunctional municipalities.
“These include mismanagement, lack of transparency, poor labour relations, inadequate human resource capacity, shortage of technical skills and lack of coordination among the three spheres of government,” she said.
Dlamini-Zuma also revealed that the number of financially non-viable municipalities have increased from 80 to 125 this year.
"Through the District Development Model, we want to make sure that the Inter-Governmental Relation Framework Act is put into action. It is a framework for coordinating and aligning development priorities and objectives in the three spheres of government as well as the development of indicators for development and evaluation.”
At the same time Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu stressed that preventative controls need to be put in place to ensure the model works.
"One of the things that must not be forgotten when this development model is taken to implementation is the importance of putting in place preventative controls,” he said.
"So far we have launched three of these pilots, there was one in Waterberg [Municipality], one in OR Tambo Municipality in the Eastern Cape and there was another in KwaZulu-Natal.
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