Matjhabeng Local Municipality spends more than R30 Million on a new fleet

Matjhabeng local municipality within the Lejweleputswa District Municipality, in the Free State, launched a new fleet that costs more than R30 Million on Friday 31 May 2024. The fleet is aimed at intensifying service delivery in the municipality.

The new fleet includes three Tipper trucks for R8 700 000 inclusive of licensing, delivery, and service plan. Maintenance motor grade for R2 800 000 that is inclusive of licensing, delivery, and service plan. One excavator for R2 300 000. Two TLBs for R3 100 000, four Refuse Compactor trucks for R14 800 000.

Speaking to the media, Matjhabeng Mayor Thanduxolo Khalipa, said that they had spent more than R30 Million on a new fleet as part of their plan to stop outsourcing and increase their internal capacity.

“The R32 million that we are spending is part of our plan for this financial year. In November 2021 we committed ourselves to building our internal capacity and stopping outsourcing. So it’s part of that programme of making sure that we build our internal capacity”, he said.

Khalipa went on to further explain that they had also achieved their goal of having a refuse compactor truck at every ward as part of making sure that they improve cleanliness within the municipality and taking care of the environment, as they have bought four other compactor trucks which bring the number of compactor trucks they have to 36.

When asked what the purpose of this new fleet was, the members of the community said that they had seen this fleet bought before but they had never seen where it ended up and what it does.

The Mayor responded by saying that the purpose of buying a TLB is to deal with many different things, like fixing where there are electricity challenges, pipe bursts, and sewage spillage.

“I agree with you that our people have a reason to complain because right now it is no longer issues of resources but the attitude of our employees. It is the responsibility of the municipal manager to supervise the entire management. All the employees must change their attitude and make sure that they serve our people. There has been some improvement but we can still do better”

He continued to say that their role as council is to support the municipal manager with resources and that is what they have been doing.

He also said that they bought a truck that deals with potholes but the employees can’t use it even though they had provided them with training. This means that they have to recruit other people within the municipality, those who have a passion for serving the people.

The Mayor stressed that they are not only focusing on the fleet but also other things as they have advertised posts for engineers, plumbers, general workers, and traffic officers, as part of building capacity.

“We want Matjhabeng to be the best municipality. It will not happen overnight. We are building a system and systems take time. By the time the system starts moving, people will see that Matjhabeng is moving to another level”, said the Mayor of Matjhabeng Thanduxolo Khalipa.