Municipalities have become breeding grounds for political gangsters – Mapaila

PHUTI MOSOMANE

SACP General Secretary Solly Mapaila, who addressed the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) central executive committee (CEC) on Wednesday, said that local government has transformed into a breeding ground for ‘unscrupulous’ politicians and political gangsters.

Mapaila urged SAMWU and the SACP to work together in order to eliminate corruption in municipalities and enhance service delivery.

“We need to review the funding model for municipalities to be able to deliver services to residents. The current funding model deliberately sets up municipalities for failure, at the end of the day, there will be no municipality,” said Mapaila.

“The SACP will be happy to engage SAMWU on the challenges faced by municipalities and how these challenges can be resolved.”

Mapaila also attributed the delay in payments of municipal workers to the intensified effects of capitalism, as municipal functions are being increasingly privatized.

He argued that this has resulted in a