Service delivery delays in KZN

2007-10-05 19:21

Durban - A day before President Thabo Mbeki was due to hold the presidential imbizo in the province's Ladysmith area, KwaZulu-Natal's director general conceded that there were serious backlogs in the province.

KwaZulu-Natal director general Kwazi Mbanjwa said that of the 2 272 million households, 29% did not have basic access to clean drinking water, while 43.7% of the province's households did not have sanitation. He said that 34.1% of the province's houses were not connected to the national electricity grid.

Mbanjwa, who was speaking at a press conference in Durban a day before Mbeki was due to arrive in the uThukela district, said that most departments, including Home Affairs, would be present at some of the communities Mbeki would visit.

He said that while funding at current levels meant the province would take between three and seven years to eliminate all the backlogs, the challenge of municipalities' capacity remained a problem.

"The capacity of local government is limited to deal with backlogs," he said, adding that municipalities battled to attract technically qualified people.

Apart from Mbeki, senior provincial leaders will also be attending the two-day imbizo, which sees Mbeki visiting various locations within the uThukela district municipality. He will be meeting community members from Ezakheni, Ladysmith and Uitvaal.

Security is expected to be tight during the two-day visit by the president.

- SAPA