After three years and R103 million, government’s so-called District Development Model (DDM) is still no more than an illusion seeing as no tangible progress has been made with turning municipal service delivery around.
This is evident in the reply by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Ms Thembi Nkadimeng, to a parliamentary question from the FF Plus.
The FF Plus asked for specific examples where the DDM brought about an improvement in financial management, the maintenance and upgrading of critical infrastructure, and better service delivery.
The Minister was unable to provide a single example. She did, however, indicate that R103 million has already been spent on planning.
Minister Nkadimeng’s admission follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s claim in 2019 that the implementation of the DDM has led to several successes in municipal service delivery.
Since then, government has mentioned the Model and its supposed successes on a number of occasions.
Even public commentators have started referring to the DDM as an existing, functional government programme.
But from the Minister’s reply it is clear that the DDM is no more than a figment of the ANC government’s imagination, which is being used as an election gimmick.
It is a disgrace that R103 million has already been spent on an ANC-government project that does not seem to exist, while millions of South Africans are affected by corruption and the decline of ANC-controlled municipalities countrywide.
South Africans deserve better than the ANC.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Michal Groenewald on FF Plus
The post R103 million and 3 years later – Government’s District Development Model is just an illusion appeared first on South Africa Today.