The Makhado Municipality has said this week that all municipal officials wear nametags and that there are no longer long queues at the municipality.

In a media release, they state that “drastic steps will be taken against any official not wearing a nametag.” To minimise the problem of too few officials manning the counter, “posts were advertised and being filled”.

The statement by municipal spokesperson Mr Louis Bobodi addresses some of the so-called “small issues” discussed by the Speaker, Ms Joan Hoorzuk and several structures on May 21. The Speaker promised that the small issues would be dealt with immediately.

Another “small issue” was that people were not being helped in Shangaan. The answer came, “customers are [being] helped in any language(s) of their choice and we do not discriminate on the basis of languages when servicing our customers and the public.”

At the meeting in May, people complained about rude and arrogant municipal officials and even named some specifically. The municipality advises customers to lodge official complaints should that be the case.

The “big issues” were regarded as all the issues raised in the declaration of the dispute by the Soutpansberg Ratepayers Association. These pertain to the rapid deterioration in service delivery and maintenance of infrastructure, as well as to financial and administrative maladministration. On the big issues, Bobodi answered that “all the vacant positions in the Department of Finance are being filled in order to render an effective and efficient administration”.

At the May meeting, the Speaker set the date of June 18 for a report-back meeting, but the meeting was quietly forgotten. One of the questions posed to the municipality on July 3 reads “Why did the Speaker not honour her promise to the Soutpansberg Ratepayers Association to meet with them on June 18?” That part of the question remains un-answered.

Mr Frans Prinsloo, Chairperson of the SPRA, said that Ms Hoorzuk had promised a report-back meeting with all the line managers.

“The big issues like why the municipality dumps raw sewerage into public waterways and pumps it out of nearby boreholes for the public to drink again have not been addressed. Nor has the financial maladministration been addressed,” stated Prinsloo.