Further evidence of collapsing Thusong centres in KZN
In another confirmation of the rapid deterioration of the state, the Democratic Alliance (DA) can reveal that after visiting two Thusong centres in eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal that these centres are white elephants and do not provide the services to the communities as anticipated. This was revealed when doing an oversight visit accompanied by MP Tim Brauteseth this week.
The first centre visited in kwaDabeka was not found as per the Thusong centre website; clearly the website is incorrect, or the centre simply does not exist.
The second centre visited was the Mnini centre in Mgababa. Although the building is in good condition and all the services are visibly available services like Home Affairs, Social Services, Cogta and Labour had no officials assisting within their offices. These officials were simply not at work as per the hours indicated.
Thusong centres are, according to the project website supposedly “one-stop centres where local, provincial and national government, as well as other sector service-providers, offer services and developmental information to local communities”.
The contributing factors to the sad state of affairs at the Mnini centre are that since the establishment of the centre in 2012 no SLA’s between the service providers have been signed and therefore the services that should be provided is simply not happening. No lease agreements in terms of the buildings are in place.
A ruinous lack of leadership and planning also means that no single government department is currently in charge of Thusong centres, as they all seek to avoid accountability for this disaster.
During the DA’s visit, we found that SASSA and the local Municipality’s offices were operational and servicing community members. Speaking to community members these centres are in dire need of a SAPS satellite centre as this service is often very far for communities to access.
All the kiosks that are built on the premises to ensure small business operations take place on the property were also vacant and non-functional. The centre, however, did provide communication services to the community in terms of functionality of computers and internet
Taxpayers currently fork out R8 million per year for each centre, bringing the annual cost of the Thusong programme to R1.5 billion.
We as the DA are committed to root out incompetent service delivery within Government and ensure that taxpayer’s money is invested wisely. We will continue to do oversight over these centres and expose non-functional Thusong centres. These centres must be utilised as one-stop service delivery centres as they are intended to be to assist those communities that simply can not access services that are far distances to travel.
The ANC run Government is simply interested in deploying cadres to run service delivery and not on the fact that we need dedicated officials employed in government to ensure that services are brought to every community throughout the country to ensure a better life for all.
Statement issued Michele Clarke MP - Shadow Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration, 17 December 2019
