Hlabisa says stabilising the local government will be his priority

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The newly appointed Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Velenkosini Hlabisa says stabilising the local government will be his first order of business.

He was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the Cabinet Lekgotla at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria on Saturday.

The two-day meeting attended by ministers and their deputies as well as premiers and representatives of SALGA was called to devise the agenda of the GNU over the next five years.

Hlabisa says effective service delivery in municipalities is dependent on the stability of the local sphere of government.

“Our priority is to ensure stability in the local government. We must minimise to zero the level of protests because if there are protests there are no opportunities of ensuring services are being rendered. The stability in our municipalities must also be ensured in terms of leadership.

Hlabisa adds, “A municipality with no political stability is one mayor after the other. There are quarrels between the mayor, the deputy mayor and the speaker. That municipality becomes unstable and will not be able to deliver services.”