Nkomazi Local Municipality 20 - Co-operative Governance and ...

NKOMAZI MUNICIPAL MANAGER’S OVERVIEWAs administration, we present this 2012/2013IDP at a particularly interesting and challengingtime for local government in our countrywhereby we have got a new Executive Council.That is a unique challenge that sees the baton ofgovernance passed from one duly electedCouncil to the next. It is an interesting yetchallenging times. The accumulative fruits of theprevious 5 years of implementation should nowbe tangible, visible and felt by communities.The responsibility of the administration is toensure a smooth and seamless transfer ofplanning, projects, resources, personnel, andmost importantly to carry over the voices of thepeople to the next level. The role of theadministration is also to ensure stability andsupport for the democratic process. This IDP willinclude many evaluation and planning exercises that will measure the impact of the Turn-Around Strategy that themunicipality embarked on.The effects of the global economic crunch are still being felt in our country particularly our municipality due to its ruralnature and cross boundary to Swaziland and Mozambique. At the level of the Nkomazi Local Municipality we see that theincreases in the Equitable Share are well below expectations. This has created a financial squeeze on salaries, operatingcosts and capital projects.The incoming political leadership and the administration will have to step up the efforts to access more funding fromnational and provincial programmes, in many instances these programmes already exists. In addition to this, donor fundingfrom across the globe needs to be sought. Internally we must stretch our resources further, and exercise prudence in ourspending.The uncertainty for the staff is equally uncomfortable. One of the biggest challenges that the institution will face in the nextfinancial year will be to implement the Revenue Enhancement Strategy as advocated by the National and ProvincialGovernment. Communities are still enjoying free services at the expense of the little income collected within our four towns.As a result our municipality has been put under huge financial stress, where we are unable to collect sufficient revenue yetwe require money to deliver services at all times. These services include refuse removal, provision of water, electricity,sanitation and other services. Our clients are not only residents but they include government departments and businesses.The strategies and deliverables in this Integrated Development Plan remain the basis of our work as employees. Whentranslated into the Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plans (SDBIPs), this is what guides our day-to-day work andour mandate. The transition from one body of political leadership to the next should not detract us from this responsibility.The One-Year Bridging IDP cannot be a period of wait-and-see. Many projects and programmes are to proceed atundiminished pace and new ones as contained in this IDP must be implemented.As we have already began the 2011/2016 term of office, I must take this opportunity on behalf of all the employees ofNkomazi Local Municipality, to thank every single Councillor, The Executive Mayor, Speaker and the Chief Whip for theirsupport and inspiration over the past year (the beginning of the 5 year cycle). Under the able and dedicated leadership ofour Executive Mayor, we will be able to steer through some stormy seas. May our dreams live on in the hearts and hands ofNKLM Integrated Development Plan 2012_2013 10