WE WILL FIX OUR MUNICIPALITIES WITH EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE ADMINISTRATIONS
We believe that we have to transform the way our municipalities operate and will strive to make the organisations more efficient and effective at delivering services to residents.
Organisational transformation
Organisational reform: we will immediately implement organisational reform to ensure that our administrations are lean and responsive with a focus on front-line service delivery. We will do away with top-heavy administrations by reducing senior and middle-management roles while increasing front-line staff, thus directing our expenditure to service delivery.
Insourcing: where feasible, we will insource front-line service delivery workers being exploited by tenderpreneurs and third-party agreements.
Process optimisation and digitalisation: we will utilise the power of information technology to improve our municipalities’ internal processes and eventually move toward paper-free administrations and adopt e-governance.
Financial sustainability
Financial standards compliance: we will actively work towards achieving unqualified audits for all our municipalities by appointing competent financial officers and reforming financial management practices.
Sound financial management practices: we will take active steps to maximise revenue and cut operational costs not directly related to service delivery. This will ensure that our municipalities’ financial indicators are within the benchmarks set by National Treasury, and more money is available to invest in basic infrastructure and services.
Fixing billing issues: we will ensure residents receive accurate bills and improve the ease of making payments. When queries do arise, we will ensure they are dealt with efficiently.
Electronic audit trails: our municipalities will conduct their business on modern information systems that allow for comprehensive and accessible audit trails of government decisions and processes.
Revenue enhancement: we will streamline revenue collection practices and processes to ensure that residents that can afford to pay for services can do so easily, safely and reliably. We will also take a zero-tolerance approach towards residents or businesses abusing and exploiting municipal services without paying their fair share.
Procurement reform: we will reform procurement practices to ensure value-for-money in service provision. By benchmarking tender prices against market prices, we will ensure that inflated prices and underperformance by service providers will be a thing of the past.
Funded projects: we will make sure all our projects are adequately planned and funded. We will only invest in projects that will add value to the municipality with a strategic focus on basic infrastructure, including roads, water, sanitation, and electricity. We will monitor how public money is spent on infrastructure development to ensure value for money.
