During a meeting between the Soutpansberg Ratepayers Association (SRPA) and the Makhado Municipality, the current dispute with the Makhado Municipality was temporarily suspended until January 15 next year.

The suspension is not unconditional, however, since the SRPA is adamant that the Council has to make a serious effort to address the lack of service delivery in Louis Trichardt.

In a document sent to Council, the SRPA outlines the various conditions under which the dispute will be regarded as temporarily suspended. These include the fact that action plans linked to budgets and time frames be presented by the municipality on or before 15 January with regard to all queries and concerns raised by the SRPA, failure of which will result in sanctions being enforced against the municipality, as well as the directors of the municipality and the municipal manager. These sanctions include measures to withhold taxes to the municipality, as well as incapacity procedures against the municipal manager and the directors to determine whether they are fit to hold office. If unfit for office, they will be sent for training and, if unable to fulfil their functions successfully after the training, they will be dismissed according to standard, fair labour practices and replaced by capable persons who have the necessary training and experience. The SRPA stresses that it will not tolerate further empty promises by the municipality and it henceforth insists on an approach based on integrity and zero tolerance towards fraud.

The action plans must be logical, practical and result-driven to achieve the best results with the infrastructure currently in place. The SRPA will employ its own set of civil engineers, attorneys, auditors and other experts to review the action plans to ensure that they are workable.

One of the most significant items discussed was the proposed implementation of the new property rates by the municipality at the end of October. The SRPA feels that insufficient consultation has taken place and that the new rates should not be implemented. If the municipality should go ahead with the implementation, the SRPA will seek a court application to prevent this from happening. The SRPA intends to pursue the matter further and has requested the municipality to assist in the setting of a date for a subsequent meeting where these matters will be discussed.

In its official reaction to the temporary suspension of the dispute, the municipality reacted by way of its official spokesperson, Mr Louis Bobodi. He indicated that the municipality believed that the matter could be resolved via communication between the stakeholders.

According to him, they are all working towards a solution for the problems, which will be resolved by sitting around a table, not as enemies, but as inhabitants of the same town. He feels that the municipality and the Vhembe District Municipality will be able to come up with suitable action plans with timelines for implementation. To this effect, the two structures have appointed a task team, which held a meeting in Thohoyandou on Tuesday, where it was adding the finishing touches to the action plan. He also indicated that some of the projects need both short- and long-term solutions. The short-term solutions will be addressed by adjusting the current budget, while the long-term solutions will be incorporated into next year’s financial planning.

Bobodi does not foresee any problems in terms of the SRPA’s satisfaction with the solutions and action plans proposed by the local and district municipality. He feels that additional problems which might arise will be addressed as they occur, to the mutual satisfaction of all parties concerned. In terms of funds needed to implement the plans, he indicated that the district municipality and other government structures would be responsible for supplying the money required.