01 May 2021

Byline: Levhuwani Matumba

Mpumalanga Human Settlement MEC Speedy Mashilo addressed the community of Leandra during his visit within Govan Mbeki Municipality on Friday, 23 April 2021. 

MEC Mashilo said he is aware of the challenges faced by the community and as the department, they already have plans to buy land in Leandra.

He further cautioned residents to be patient and not invade land because it then becomes difficult for the department to install services and provide accessibility. 

“The GMM Executive Mayor did mention that Leandra is underdeveloped and people have got no jobs,” said MEC Mashilo.

He further mentioned that there are lots of projects which are either not finished or get delayed because of local 

contractors who demand jobs and then fail to deliver.

“I would like you to know that while the projects are delayed, the government takes the money and channel it to other emergencies in other areas and when contractors are ready to do the work, there is no money available.”

He slammed the community of Govan Mbeki Municipality for discriminating against each other according to their areas or wards. 

He urged the community members to tolerate each other and be united when job opportunities are available. 

According to the MEC, GMM residents should be able to work anywhere within the municipality without any boundaries. 

When a contractor fails to perform, we terminate the contract and blacklist him from doing work with the 

government for ten years. 

MEC further advised the mayor to consider paving for township roads instead of tar because most of the tarred road projects are of poor quality. 

“The youth of GMM should start creating jobs for themselves such as brick making.

They should not worry as to who will buy the bricks because the government will buy them to build RDP houses as long as they comply with the SABS standard.”

The MEC also handed over 800 title deeds to Govan Mbeki Municipality to be issued to the relevant recipients. 

During question time, residents wanted to know what would happen to the Ekuthuleni area since they were promises made by the government to install services. 

GMM Executive Mayor Nhlakanipho Zuma responded by saying, “The government was always willing to develop the Ekuthuleni area but the process was delayed by the continuous objections.

He further mentioned that it was already announced by his predecessors that the area will be developed and that process should come to pass.