BLOEMFONTEIN – The DA Leader Geordin Hill-Lewis will visit Bloemfontein on Tuesday, 6 October in his Working For All Tour.

One of the first things that the DA will do if it is handed power in the Mangaung Metro, is to tackle the failing infrastructure and financial losses.

This is according to the DA’s Mayoral Candidate in Mangaung, Werner Pretorius in an interview with BloemNewsExpress.

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“We already have a blueprint of what works in other municipalities to apply in Mangaung,” Pretorius said. “We are coming in with strong candidates in all 51 wards of the metro, as well as a strong list of proportional nominees. We are ready to make Mangaung work again.”

He says residents of Mangaung are tired of the ANC. “With or without an PR list, the ANC is up for a battle.”

ANC in ConCourt

The trouble-ridden ANC has taken its municipal-election nomination dispute with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) over 181 candidates to the Constitutional Court. The party is seeking the right for its candidates to contest in six municipalities in the Local Government Election and overturn the Electoral Court order. The case will appear before the ConCourt on Monday, 5 October.

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Pretorius said the restoration of the city’s financial problems take key in the DA’s plans for the future. “The budget must carefully consider the metro’s infrastructure and the needs there are. Spending on infrastructure are around 2% of the budget in Mangaung and in the last year around 3,4%. The national standard calls for 8%. We can see this in the poor state of the metro’s infrastructure, like the Sterkwater Sewerage Plant that is not only non-operational, but sewerage is also flowing past the site.”

Deliver reliable water and electricity

Talking about the city’s ability to deliver reliable water and electricity, Pretorius said there is a huge vacancy rate in critical departments like water and sanitation. According to him the department of water has a 78% vacancy rate and sanitation 61%. He said according to the AG report the city’s finance department has a vacancy rate of 50%.

“It is urgent that qualified people are appointed in these positions, starting with engineers, chartered accountants and project managers. Projects must be properly managed to see them through.” He referred to several projects in the city that has not been finished long beyond their deadlines. “This include the Maselspoort Water Purification Plant that only deliver 30% of its capacity. Maselspoort is a huge opportunity for the city to be more self-reliant in terms of water delivery. The project to extend the capacity, should be finished.”

With regards to electricity, he says a audit of risks should be done as soon as possible. “The city should consider all transformers. We should also have a proper service plan to cut trees across the city that create huge problems during stormy weather.”

DA leader visits Bloemfontein

The DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis will visit Bloemfontein on Tuesday 6 October as part of his country wide tour. He stopped in Tshwane, EThekwini, Ekurhuleni, Nelson Mandela Bay and Johannesburg before his final stop in Mangaung.

Pretorius, the Free State leader Roy Jankielsohn and member of legislator Jafta Mokoena will also be at the event in the City Hall at 16:00 for 16:30.