Municipalities tackling Covid challenges

Municipalities in the Western Cape are working non-stop to address the backlogs in service delivery caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell says municipalities have been hard hit by the pandemic and the various lockdowns that have been put in place.

“All our municipalities continue to be severely affected by the pandemic. Municipalities are reporting revenue loss ranging between 20% and 30%. Most of our municipalities rely on the busy December holiday period for revenue and have lost out significantly this past season with the various restrictions in place. Jobs across the province are under pressure and there is very little room left for municipalities.”

Bredell has commended municipalities for their ongoing efforts to address the backlogs in service delivery arising from ongoing lockdowns and Covid.

“Municipalities across the Western Cape have seen their staff affected by the deadly virus and severe restrictions put in place affecting their daily operations. The result is backlogs. I want to assure the public our municipalities – supported by the provincial department - are working non-stop to address these backlogs as swiftly as possible.”

Some highlights from across the province:

• The City of Cape Town has managed to licence and register the more than 1,3 million registered vehicles in Cape Town in only six months in an effort to address the backlogs.
• During 2020, the City’s Water and Sanitation Department cleared approximately 122 000 sewer blockages across Cape Town. Approximately 75% of these cases are the result of misuse of the sewer system with illegal dumping into the sewer system being a major contributor to blockages.
• Stellenbosch Municipality is handing out PPE kits to local traders at Franchhoek, Kayamandi and Bergzicht this week. The municipality is also distributing masks to homeless and vulnerable people and continues to do weekly sanitation of public spaces. The municipality has implemented extended business operational hours to address the backlog at the traffic department. The municipality is driving a campaign called Stellenbosch is Open in efforts to get the local economy back on track.
• Knysna Municipality is driving a “Vote Local” campaign, encouraging the public to support local businesses in efforts to grow the economy.

“Officials across the province are working hard to assist the public with any issues they may have as speedily as possible. While some issues may take longer to fix than hoped, we ask the public to be patient and to bear with us during this time,” says Bredell.