PP Gcaleka to tackle maladministration in N West municipalities

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The Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka has set her eyes on dealing with what she deems systematic maladministration in North West municipalities.

Speaking during a public lecture at the North West University’s Mahikeng campus, Gcaleka revealed that the maladministration in the province’s municipalities that result in lack of service delivery has caught her attention.

According to the recent Government Performance Index (GPI) released in March this year, the North West reports by far the lowest average GPI scores.

Gcaleka says her office is working on a report that will deal with the systematic maladministration in municipalities across the province.

“We need to identify one report that will deal with the systemic challenges in the North West. But what is brought to my attention, and which I agree with, the challenge in the North West is that maladministration is so systemic that it has become a norm. Now, you find one administrator who administers one municipality badly. And when the next municipality is put under administration that very same administrator is taken to that municipality and yet a different result is expected.”

Gcaleka, emphasised that government should also ensure that the mining companies are held liable for the development of the communities where they mine.

“The North West is a vast mining area. Now, the agreements between government and the mines to ensure that community development takes place in line with the conditions for the license. So, we see that it is not being monitored by government, and as a result the communities suffer. So those are some of the matters that we really are interacting with.”