Failure to implement set policies, lack of accountability and not having qualified people in positions of authority are some of the reasons most ANC municipalities are in a state of decline. ANC Free State Interim Provincial Committee (IPC) convenor Mxolisi Dukwana says the party has listened to the people and will address those issues if given another five-year mandate in next week’s local government elections. Dukwana, who is also the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, says the party will focus on serving the people and not entertain divisions amongst those elected to serve.
How have things been for the ANC in this campaign period?
As expected, a lot of work to be done. The councillors we had from the last elections did not have much interaction with community members in several wards. Essentially, the ward system is aimed at bringing councillors close to the people and interact regularly with them. This helps ensure that people are taken along in their own governance and determining the kind of services, the quality and frequency of those services they are supposed to get. I don’t think many of our councillors acted accordingly and this is something that we are correcting now. So it became very difficult because there was a distance between government – which is led by the ANC – in the local sphere and the people. That gap created problems.
But the ANC has been in power in most municipalities since democracy in 1994. Are you saying your councillors have never understood their role or the party has allowed systems to deteriorate in recent years?
I think . . . every time you get new leadership, there is a misunderstanding of the role of . . . local government. This is not a tier, but a sphere of government. There needs to be that mutual respect. But for a very long time, especially in the province, we have had a situation where we had networks of patronage and this actually paralysed the organisation . . . we are not doing what we are supposed to be doing. This paralysed the administration (in municipalities) very badly. The systems collapsed. And when the system collapses, it simply means they don’t want accountability. And because you don’t want accountability, you don’t get people involved, because once people are well informed and participate actively, they will expose you. So the system that was created, undermined the system which held elected officials to account. That’s what has been lacking and it doesn’t matter for how long the organisation has been in power. What matters is what has actually been happening . . . the style of leadership that we had.
What are you therefore telling people in your campaigns regarding how you will deal with these networks of patronage and improve delivery, among others?
Having realised our mistakes, having recognised the shortcomings on our part, we have been going out and asking for forgiveness from the voters for failing them in many respects and not getting them involved in making sure that we have a responsive and responsible government. We believe that once you have a manifesto that doesn’t involve people actively participating, it becomes a promise that is empty. But once you get people involved – so they know when exactly something will happen, how it will happen and their role – people will act differently. That is what we are telling them. This has not been said properly for people to understand. We don’t ask them to vote the ANC and relax. We want them to be active participants, not passive recipients of services. They should be aware of what’s happening so that they can call us out when we make mistakes.
The opposition has not had any kind words for you lately regarding service delivery and the overall running of municipalities. One might want to dismiss it as electioneering, but many residents share similar views. How do you hope to address the numerous issues raised by residents?
We are not prepared to play politics. This is about the lives of people. The opposition is within its rights to raise these issues. We shouldn’t be arrogant as an organisation. What they are pointing out is actually true. Whilst we have achieved certain things, there is a lot more that we could have achieved. There are moments when many of us feel that we could have used the resources prudently and there should have been value for money . . . for the public purse that we have been using. In many instances, it has not been like that because there was no proper accountability. People were doing things with impunity. We are committing ourselves to ending that. Accountability and impunity do not go together.
We have heard many other politicians saying this, but nothing changes after being voted into office. Are you saying this in order to win the local government elections?
If you do things with impunity, accountability is affected. It’s compromised. We are saying let’s hold ourselves accountable. Let’s make sure that people hold us accountable. In that way, you will not have councils or municipalities doing things with impunity the way they have been doing for some time. This is the last opportunity we are getting . . . this it or nothing. This is the break-point for the organisation. We either do good or we perish. We are not stupid. We can see what has been happening and we say stop the rot now. Let’s do things the right way. The 2017 ANC conference gave us the mandate to renew the organisation and rebuild its values and structures so that it becomes an instrument that serves the people, instead of being used by leaders to serve their selfish interests.
The IPC released a statement on Sunday evening on the state of certain municipalities in the province. In Mangaung, for example, the IPC said it’s happy with the level of service delivery since the current mayor and speaker came in, but residents are telling a very different story. Is that how you will be accounting to the people after the elections?
No, no . . . I don’t intend spinning anything. I want us to be as honest as we can with our voters so they can trust and believe in us. We can’t be saying things that people do not see on the ground. If Mangaung is filthy, we can’t hide it. If there are potholes, we can’t pretend there are none. For us to build that integrity in the system, we must develop efficient ways within which to operate. If we agree that a pothole should be filled within 24 hours, that’s what should be done. If that doesn’t happen, someone must be held accountable. If garbage is supposed to be collected on Monday, it should be collected on that day. There must be consistency. People will not be allowed to do as they wish. We will be breathing down the neck of every elected official. We won’t allow them to do malicious compliance, either. If you look at the IDPs (Integrated Development Plans) there is actually no long-term planning.
Mangaung recently announced changes to collection days for garbage but this has not really helped, because the rubbish still sits on the streets for over a week. Most residents don’t even know who to report to because the councillors are not visible. Is the ANC prepared to commit to more visibility of its councillors?
One of the things we are currently discussing with national government is consistency in providing services. CoGTA deputy minister will be in Mangaung on Tuesday to discuss that, among other issues. As a resident, if my garbage is supposed to be removed on Mondays and if it doesn’t happen, there must be an explanation. If the truck breaks down, as residents we must know when it will be fixed or replaced. This is one thing we will be pushing for everyone to know. We will have dedicated lines where residents can report when things are not happening. That’s why we have made the councillor candidates sign pledges so that we are able to hold them accountable. They should be able to tell us why we shouldn’t suspend them or act against them. There will be no time for relaxing. Leaders cannot continue with the impunity we have seen lately. My own refuse is expected to be collected on Mondays. It didn’t happen last week and today is another Monday. It’s now a week later. We can’t say it’s just a mistake. It is wrong, unacceptable and we can’t allow this to continue without any consequences. There are workers who are not doing their work. Some report for work but they do not perform their duties. They wait for weekends so that they are paid overtime. We are not going to tolerate that. There is going to be a mind-shift so that we hold people accountable.
In the statement, the IPC also accused Sedibeng Water of having malicious intentions after it cut supplies to Matjhabeng last Tuesday. But the water board has been saying for a long time that the municipality owes it several billions for water. Why would you make such allegations?
The pipes from Sedibeng to the municipal reservoirs are old, so we lose water. The water is lost before it’s pumped to the households. The pipes from the reservoirs to households are also very old. Matjhabeng loses over 60 percent of clean water during the transportation through those pipes. We have to stop the leaks from both ends. Sedibeng cannot just cut supplies. We are paying for maintenance also. Sedibeng has no excuse why it hasn’t been maintaining its line and ensuring there are no leakages. So, it’s not only the fault of the municipality, but also that of the water board. Sedibeng is actually a service. It is not an authority. The municipality is the water authority, so we have every right to know how we are being charged. We cannot pay them for not doing their work. They have to fix the leakages so that we pay for the actual water that they release to us. We do not wish to continue with this blame game.
The launch of the Mangaung Metro Police has been shrouded in controversy and national treasury has even written to the municipality not to proceed with it. What’s really happening there?
I will start by explaining something important. Everybody agrees that we need the metro police. But what we do not agree on is the process. The metro has financial difficulties. So you don’t want to add a burden when you . . . are not able to provide the initial services expected of you. It should operate as a unit of the municipality. That means the city manager must be involved in its establishment, including the recruitment, budgeting and everything. You can’t have the head of the metro police going ahead and recruiting and signing for this when the establishment has not been approved by the city manager. The traffic and law-enforcement officials were supposed to be given first preference to join the metro police. And if you are unable to recruit some of them, a placement committee must decide what happens to those who fail to meet the cut before sourcing outside. Certain people wanted to push this metro police without addressing all the requirements. That’s why we have told them to stop it until all the issues are addressed.
Would therefore say the establishment of the metro police was being pushed by some networks of patronage?
Yes. They are actually displaying that. They are actually moving away from the initial mandate of the metro police just like what has happened at Centlec, which is supposed to be a unit within the municipality and not to stand on its own like we see now. It’s now like a municipality within a municipality. It’s now an instrument that’s being used for other purposes instead of simply providing residents with electricity.
Any plans to go into coalition with the opposition should you fail to garner enough votes to get outright majority in different municipalities?
I think it’s too early to even go that way. But the ANC must also learn. If we are not a majority and unable to form government . . . we have seen that coalition governments do not work. We have seen that in Metsimaholo Local Municipality. We have also seen Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay metros. So you don’t want to get power at all costs. If we are not a majority, we cannot allow ourselves to be bullied by smaller parties because we want to remain in power. We are an organisation with values and we should not be entering into alliances or coalitions with people that do not share similar values with us. As part of renewing ourselves, we should be prepared to be in the back-benches and actually be the opposition if that’s what the voters have decided so that we prepare ourselves adequately for the next elections. The danger with coalitions is that you are forced to do certain things because someone is putting a gun on your head and you want to protect the status of being the leader of the coalition. No ways.
Why should the residents of the Free State vote for the ANC in the coming local government elections?
We have got good policies as an organisation. However, there has been a mismatch between our polices and the implementation thereof. And now, having engaged with the people, where they were telling us what needs to happen, we have developed great policies that will take our municipalities forward. What has been lacking is the implementation and that is what we need to be focusing on to ensure that we have the best individuals with the capacity and skills to implement our programmes. We will ensure that our caucuses function properly. Squabbles which distract caucuses from doing their work will be a thing of the past. All our elected officials are going to be focusing on one thing and that is serving our people. They will diligently protect the public purse and ensure there is value for money in everything they do. We will focus mainly on implementation. We already have good policies, and that’s the difference between us and other parties.