Zuma focuses on municipal poll

‘Government still busy with further rationalisation of municipalities’ PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma kept his eye firmly on next year’s municipal elections in his annual address to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) yesterday. “We are coming close to the end of the current term of local government, the sphere that is closest to the people.” he said. “While the lives of millions have improved meaningfully, there are many others who are still waiting, who still need to see their lives change for the better.” Zuma said these people wanted water, electricity, housing, roads and schools, in addition to functioning municipalities. Government currently invested about R1-billion each working day in infrastructure development, he said. And while he pointed to poor administration in municipalities, corruption and poor spending, the president said: “It is a fact that the services rendered by many municipalities have reduced poverty. We need to acknowledge those achievements. “We should avoid entrenching the perception that all municipalities perform badly or are struggling. Many are actually doing well and are trying hard to improve systems.”

Zuma said the government had worked hard to rationalise municipalities in the country, reducing the number from 1 262 in 1995 to 278 in 2011. This was set to be further reduced. Zuma said the Municipal Demarcation Board was busy with the delimitation of wards, after which it would hand over the final ward boundaries to the Electoral Commission (IEC) to start preparing for the elections which would have to take place within 90 days of May. “The IEC has run efficient, free and fair local government elections for years now. We do not anticipate any hassles in the organisation of the 2016 elections,” he said. Meanwhile, EFF NCOP member Emmanuel Mtileni ended the parliamentary year the same way he started it – being removed by parliamentary security. Mtileni had referred to Zuma as being “as dangerous as a tsunami” and refused to withdraw the remark or leave the NCOP. When chairwoman Thandi Modise asked the usher to request him to leave, Mtileni said he would “omit that paragraph” but refused to withdraw. He was escorted out of the building but his EFF colleague Fana Mokoena argued that his removal was unfair because he had not referred to Zuma directly, rather addressing him as “a man”.