Water shortages in the Vhembe district will soon be addressed, said Executive Mayor Florence Radzilani.
She addressed the public after her inauguration during a ceremony at the Univen Stadium on Saturday. The new mayors of the Thulamela, Lim 345, Makhado and Musina local municipalities were also inaugurated during the same event.
"As a start, we have begun to fix existing and dysfunctional boreholes and also equipping those without equipment. We also understand that our communities want better roads, electricity, refuse removal and decent housing and it is our job to address these challenges," said Radzilani.
According to her, it is the primary role of a local government to create a decent living environment for the communities and to address basic services to the residents. She emphasised that any municipality that has excuses for addressing the challenges "is simply not doing its job." She acknowledged that there would be glitches at times, but said that it still remained their responsibility as public representatives to go back to the people to explain the problems. "Running away in the face of community anger or hiding behind systems can never be an option for us as your public representatives," she added.
She further said that they wanted to move away from the culture where officials did as they pleased or acted with impunity without expecting consequences. "Gone are the days of tolerating corruption and laziness in the municipal administration. Our councillors in the Vhembe region must commit themselves to hold officials accountable by ensuring that there is good financial management and that none of our municipalities obtain either a disclaimer or an adverse audit opinion," she further added.