By December this year all distressed municipalities will be receiving support from a dedicated team says Andries Nel, Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

According to Nel the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has deployed District Support Teams consisting of engineers, construction and project managers, financial accountants, town and regional planners as well governance and administration experts in 55 of the priority distressed municipalities.

Nel, who was speaking at the Vision 2030 Summit in Johannesburg on Wednesday, said by December, all distressed municipalities will have a support team. The support team will assist municipalities with governance, service delivery and financial management.

Municipal managers who know what they’re doing

“We have initiated an intensive recovery programme focusing on governance, service delivery and financial management. A major aspect of improving governance is ensuring the appointment of suitably qualified personnel. This simply means we need municipal managers who know what they are doing,” said the Deputy Minister.

His remarks come as the department rolls up its sleeves to clean up municipalities following a finding the Auditor General made that 87 municipalities are distressed or dysfunctional.