THE recruitment of top managers at the Greater Kokstad Municipality is a major priority for the municipality, according to Mayor Bheki Mtolo.
Speaking at a media briefing held at the municipal council chamber on Tuesday, Mtolo announced the employment of Stanislaus Mike Dondo and Dr Ntokozo Makoba as executive managers for Infrastructure and Technical Services and Corporate Services, respectively.
Mtolo said the two are intelligible and the wellbeing of the administration depends on the right administrative leadership which has professional skills and experience. During the media briefing, the mayor also reported on the recently completed budget road shows in all wards, saying the municipality received a lot of feedback from them.
He said the municipality is financially viable and supplies are projected at over four million.
“Among the feedback that we received, was the concern from people about the cutting off of electricity by our municipality, but we don’t have any choice in the matter. If customers fail to pay within 30 days, unfortunately we have to cut off their electricity. If you fail to pay your municipal account you are committing a serious offence,” said Mtolo.
With regards to the indigent policy, the mayor said the municipality is unhappy about the abuse of the indigent policy by some people.
“We have made it our business to ensure that our indigent policy accommodates people who cannot afford [to pay], but we have asked residents to come up with proof of this because it has been abused before,” said Mtolo.
Samkelo “Stone” Nondize was announced as the new youth officer, to look after youth development in Kokstad.
Several big projects are now underway, including the fencing of the Bhongweni cemetery among others, which were reported on during the briefing.
