Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality Mayor Dr Merriam Molala.
As part of her mission to enhance and accelerate service delivery to Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality Mayor Merriam Molala recently introduced a panel of seven Civil Engineering Consultants to Ward Councillors.
This noble undertaking took place at Lebowakgomo Civic Centre Hall as she was joined by Cllr Mamashele Makgahlele, Chairperson of Infrastructure on Friday, August 30, 2024.
Mayor Dr Molala told The Azanian that the consultant engineers will work closely with the municipality for a period of three years to plan, monitor and design roads and storm water control systems, sports recreational facilities and bridges, among others in all the identified and affected wards.
The initiative was welcomed and seconded by Ward Councillors who expressed eagerness and opportunity to work with the Consulting Engineers.
She said while it is potent to accelerate service delivery to the people that can be achieved if the parties involved work closely together. “We encourage Ward Councillors to actively engage with engineers and provide valuable insight on establishing project steering committees as well as other specific challenges and priorities of their wards. We urged the Engineers to be committed to the 3-month design period, which includes working with other government stakeholders to obtain permits such as water use licenses, environmental permits, work permits, and geotechnical surveys, among others,” Mayor Dr Molala said.
“We remain enthused that the Councillors committed to ensure that the municipality must not be subjected to snail pace and therefore there’s a need to speedily upgrade infrastructure upgrades in their wards and expressed confidence that the engineers' expertise will be invaluable in addressing these challenges. We are content that the meeting concluded with a commitment from all parties to work together towards a common goal of improving the quality of life for the residents of Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality.”
Mayor Dr Molala already has embarked on enhancing the economy of the Lepelle Nkumpi Municipality through Local Economic Development (LED) forums geared to deal with the local backlog of development within the borough.
With the development CBD of Lebowakgomo sitting on 15% only the municipality has set aside a budget to develop it its full potential. The three-year development project focussing on the CBD development is already out on tender. The CBD was approved in 1982 in a plan of making Lebowakgomo a town, indeed Dr Molala is turning things around as the new Sherrif in town geared to accelerate service delivery within the municipality.
The community is now benefiting from her academic badges after she graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration from the University of Gideon Robert. Her study focused on 'Smart Municipality as a catalyst for business process engineering and economic development'.
LED forum specialises in different categories, Information and Communications Technology or Technologies (ICT) and Property Development.
The forum focuses on Agro-processing which refers to the value chain actions that may either be nutritional, technological and/or economic that primary agriculture products undergo for alterations into usable items such as food, fibre, fuel and industrial raw material.
Meanwhile, Lepelle Nkumpi Local Municipality under the leadership of its Mayor, Dr Molala adhered to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call of accelerating service delivery without trepidation by putting people first and practising the spirit of Ubuntu.
Her administration was recognised by the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) which awarded Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality for achieving an Unqualified Audit Opinion and Most improved audit performance for the 2022/2023 Financial Year.
Lepelle Nkumpi Municipality’s profound financial management upgraded significantly compared to the 2021/2022 Financial Year audit outcome which demonstrated that indeed the greatest weapon is to be disciplined and practice what you sermonise.
The municipality also completed a project in ward 21 Dithabaneng and disaster project in ward 15.
Molala who is former ANCWL convenor and current ANC Peter Mokaba REC member said: “In the spirit of Ubuntu embraced by the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, let us remember that our achievements are intricately linked to collective efforts of our communities and the support of our loved ones. It is then our responsibility to uplift others as we transcend and not to forget that Africa needs us, however that the change that we want to see must start at home.”
“We will continue to accelerate service delivery to our people. We must never forget that our mandate is to improve the lives of our people. We must also ensure that our economy is enhanced. We commit to improve our infrastructure and provide free basic services. We can only achieve our goals by working hard and proper financial management.”
She also said winning SALGA’s awards tells a good story as well as great achievement. “We registered significant audit improvement for the 2022/2023 financial year. The hard work and commitment of our management and officials, oversight by our Council has paid off. We will continue in our concerted efforts to manage our cash flow and generate cash-backed surpluses to fund future capital expenditure,” Molala added.
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