Goya appeals for calm over constituency funds

Lindiwe Mozola | Thursday March 23, 2017 17:52

 

He made the appeal at Madiba ward during a kgotla meeting  whose objective was to welcome the new councillor, Area Gabathuse.

He said that the initiative, officially known as Local Government (LG) 1109, in which every constituency was awarded P10 million is meant to bring the residents together towards achieving one common goal of uplifting the developments of the village.

He added that the objective of the project is to assist the community to engage in income generating projects and to create sustainable job opportunities.

He said that earlier this year, he met with local authorities to brief them about the constituency funding.

“After the introspection and discussion in various wards, the common problem raised was the state of our roads that needs to be addressed. I then suggested we buy the machinery used in road constructions such as caterpillars, paver machines and motor grade depending on the budget.

These machines would make it easier to cover more roads in the village. The remaining balance will then be circulated among different wards to address their problems at ward level,” he said.

He said MPs do not have access to the fund, as the council will control it. He said those charged with the responsibility over the capital should exercise financial prudence of the highest order.

Goya who is also assistant Minister of Basic Education further revealed the Government is yet to recover from the impact of 2008 global financial crises on the performance of the economy.

 “Let us remember that this is just the beginning and more is to come. The fund will also lead to increased employment opportunities,” he added

He noted that every financial year a review would be done and any increase would match the performance of the economy.

Village Development Committee representative Boitshoko Kinnear said that they had hoped that the capital would be shared amongst the wards because every ward has its problems.

“In our case we have hoped that it is invested into farming because farmers here still struggle with production due to lack of funds although farming is very vital in uplifting the economy of the country.

“We also have roads problem in our ward. We therefore hope with the funds they will be covered as well,” he said.