United Democratic Movement Leader Bantu Holomisa says UDM municipalities and councillors will keep their noses clean and will look at their role of oversight.
He is on a campaign trail in Mthatha.
Holomisa says as the three-year allocation cycle does not work, district municipalities blow their budgets within the first year due to corruption and poor planning.
“Projects, particularly those in roads and water come to a grinding halt in the second year as funds dry up. Projects remain unfinished until someone works up five years later. This is what happened with the 2019 OR Tambo Water and Sanitation project which led villages from Mqanduli, Mthatha up to Coffee Bay dry up to today.”
The UDM has launched its manifesto in Mthatha
Depoliticisation
Holomisa believes depoliticisation is the key to tackling corruption at local government level. The party, which has seen a steady decline in support since 2004, is contesting its fifth municipal election.
However, Holomisa is optimistic that the UDM will perform well in the forthcoming elections.
LGE 2021 | UDM manifesto launch
UDM members are currently on the streets ahead of the election manifesto launch:
The UDM was formed in 1997 by Bantu Holomisa, who was expelled from the ANC after accusing a top party official of corruption.
Holomisa, the former military strongman in the former homeland of the Transkei, teamed up with Roelf Meyer, a former Nationalist Party cabinet minister, to form a new party.
Meyer later left politics to pursue other interests.
The UDM sees itself as a contender for power with the ANC. Holomisa says his party is aiming to become an alternative government.
Following the 2016 municipal elections, the UDM won 59 seats.
