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Mokgoro to take decisive action in turning North West municipalities around

Job Mokgoro
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North West Premier Professor Job Mokgoro has lambasted the province’s 22 municipalities for failing to get clean audits following the latest Auditor General’s Report. In his first sixth administration State of the Province Address, Mokgoro committed to taking decisive action in turning municipalities around in the interest of service delivery.

He also expressed his willingness to cooperate with the State Capture Commission to unearth elements that have seen the province lose more than R2 billion to corruption.

The SOPA focused on turning the tide in the troubled province and bettering administration in the interest of service delivery. None of the province’s municipalities received clean audits.

Mokgoro says their interests are to provide a better life for people.

“This is a serious indictment on us in relation to the implementation of the Section 139 intervention in the last 12 months at these municipalities. We are aggressively going to be decisive on the action we take in turning these municipalities around in the interest of service delivery. We are not going to be intimidated while our only interest is to provide a better life for our people.”

With regards to efforts to fight corruption, Mokgoro says government has terminated irregular contracts of several companies and he has also committed to working with the State Capture Commission.

“We wish put it on record that, we as the North West provincial government are willing to co-operate with and assist the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into allegations of State Capture, chaired by the deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo. We will continue to co-operate fully with all the law enforcement agencies to root out malfeasance in government.”

Members of the opposition are, however, not as optimistic about the premier’s grand plans. Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) Papiki Babuile says no official has been convicted for corruption despite the Premier saying 44 cases have been opened.

“The Premier says there are 44 cases opened against officials who got involved in corruption, but none of those officials got convicted so far. For more than a year now, none of the politicians who were leading in different municipalities and departments have been arrested for any corruption or wrong doing in those municipalities. Instead, what we see is the promotion of those individuals from different municipalities being promoted to the provincial government.”

With a lot of promises made, it remains to be seen how many will actually be fulfilled.

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