Assessment of basic service delivery in Mafikeng Local Municipality

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the basic service delivery in Mafikeng Local Municipality which has been met with great difficulties and challenges. Mafikeng Local Municipality is a category B municipality, located in the centre of the Capital City of the North West Province. The municipality is a considerably big local municipality compared to the other four local municipalities located within the area of jurisdiction of Ngaka Modiri-Molema District Municipality. Municipalities as the third sphere of South African government have a legal obligation to provide basic services to their communities in an adequate and timely fashion. The failure of municipalities to deliver basic services not only causes immense hardship to the residents of municipalities, but can have a detrimental impact on social and economic development. Mafikeng Local Municipality, like any other municipality in South Africa, is mandated and responsible to deliver services to its local community such as water supply, road maintenance, refuse collection, sanitation and is also supposed to be delivering electricity. The study revealed from the interviews conducted with sampled councillors, municipal officials, ward committee members and members of the community that service delivery is poor; section 139(1)(b) intervention of the Constitution of South Africa was never effective in assisting the municipal situation. It revealed further that councillors and officials in key position are incapacitated, and the changing of such officials worsens the performance of the municipality in service delivery.