Tackling water shortages plaguing metros such as Ethekwini and Johannesburg will be one of the key focus areas of the Inkatha Freedom Party post the November 4 municipal elections.
The party is launching its manifesto ahead of the polls at the Princess Magogo Stadium in Kwamashu, north of Durban, this Sunday.
National Spokesperson and Ethekwini Mayoral Candidate Mkhuleko Hlengwa says fixing and maintaining ageing infrastructure is amongst the party’s apex priorities.
“We need to ensure that we deal with the corruption that characterises the water tanker ecosystem in Ethekwini, as you know, the infrastructure is being vandalised to drive up the market for water tankers, but secondly, then water is then sold to communities. So, we are looking at putting in cameras on the municipal water tankers. Thirdly, there is the hybrid model that says go beyond your conventional methods of acquiring water where boreholes need to be dug for water rollout.”
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Hlengwa says the party will be going back to basics with regard to its manifesto for the 2026 local government elections.
He says the leader of the party, Velenkhosini Hlabisa, will outline the achievements of the party and the vision going forward.
“One is a service delivery track record to report back about what we have done in the last five years in municipalities that we have governed. Secondly, how do we use those gains and those experiences to use them on how to expand into new areas such as Ethkwini City of Joburg, amongst others? And of critical importance for us is taking local government back to basics, which is to refocus local government on its competencies as stipulated in the law. So, here we are talking about a focus on water provision; we are going to be very specific about how we respond to the water challenge and infrastructure challenge.”
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