Sterkspruit<\/p>\n
The Joe Gqabi District Municipality (JGDM) Executive Mayor, Councillor (Cllr) Nomvuyo Mposelwa, has recently delivered the 2026 State of the District Address (SODA), providing an account of the outgoing Council\u2019s performance during the 2021\u20132026 term and highlighting progress made in water and sanitation, public health, disaster management, local economic development and governance.<\/p>\n
Delivering the address at Bensonvale College in Sterkspruit on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, the Executive Mayor reflected on the municipality\u2019s achievements, ongoing infrastructure investments and persistent service delivery challenges affecting communities across Elundini, Senqu and Walter Sisulu local municipalities.<\/p>\n
Major investments in water and sanitation<\/strong><\/p>\n Water and sanitation infrastructure remained a central focus of the municipality\u2019s service delivery programme, with substantial investments directed towards expanding access, rehabilitating ageing infrastructure, and improving the reliability of water supply and sanitation services.<\/p>\n In Walter Sisulu Local Municipality, 11 water and sanitation infrastructure interventions, valued at approximately R404 million, were undertaken during the reporting period of which six projects, representing an investment of approximately R114 million, were completed. In Elundini, nine projects valued at R930 million were undertaken, with four completed through an investment of R206 million. Meanwhile, Senqu recorded 13 major interventions valued at R1.1 billion, including investments in Lady Grey, Ekhephini, Sterkspruit and surrounding rural communities, with five of them completed at a cost of approximately R221 million. Several projects remain under construction, implementation, or planning, reflecting the municipality\u2019s continued efforts to address infrastructure backlogs and extend essential services to underserved communities.<\/p>\n The Executive Mayor acknowledged that significant challenges remain, including ageing infrastructure, water resource scarcity and delays affecting some projects. She emphasised the importance of protecting existing infrastructure, improving maintenance, and strengthening water conservation, particularly in anticipation of the forecast El Ni\u00f1o weather phenomenon.<\/p>\n Strengthening public health and disaster response<\/strong><\/p>\n The municipality continued to prioritise public health through environmental health inspections, food safety interventions, water quality monitoring, and community awareness programmes. The Executive Mayor also highlighted efforts to strengthen disaster preparedness and emergency response through the development of the District Disaster Management Plan, the acquisition of specialised firefighting and veld fire suppression equipment, and the launch of the Sterkspruit Fire Station Pilot Programme in October 2025.These interventions are intended to improve the district\u2019s capacity to respond to emergencies, including fires, floods, severe weather and other hazards affecting rural communities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Advancing local economic development and financial sustainability<\/strong><\/p>\n The municipality\u2019s economic development interventions included support for agricultural initiatives, investment promotion and measures aimed at improving access to economic opportunities. The address highlighted the maize-meat feedlot initiative launched in Nqanqarhu in 2025, as well as efforts to position the district as an investment destination through partnerships and development initiatives.<\/p>\n The municipality also expanded digital access through free public Wi-Fi zones at Rhodes Library and Tlokoeng Library, creating opportunities for residents to access information, educational resources, and online services.<\/p>\n In addition, the transition towards cashless municipal payments, the Debt Write-Off Incentive Scheme, and the rollout of prepaid water meters form part of ongoing efforts to strengthen revenue collection, improve accountability and support the municipality\u2019s long-term financial sustainability.<\/p>\n Five consecutive clean audits<\/strong><\/p>\n On governance and institutional performance, the Executive Mayor highlighted the municipality\u2019s achievement of five consecutive clean audit outcomes, reflecting its commitment to financial accountability and sound governance. However, she cautioned that good governance must ultimately translate into tangible improvements in people’s lives.<\/p>\n Unemployment, poverty, infrastructure backlogs, and financial constraints continue to affect the district\u2019s ability to meet all service delivery needs. She emphasised the importance of accelerating infrastructure delivery, improving revenue collection, supporting farmers and small businesses, creating opportunities for young people, and strengthening partnerships between government and communities.<\/p>\n \u201cThe progress achieved during this term must be measured not only by the projects completed and investments made, but also by the difference these interventions make in the lives of our people,\u201d the Executive Mayor said.<\/p>\n Council proceeds on recess<\/strong><\/p>\n The outgoing Council convened its final Council meeting before the State of the District Address, marking the conclusion of its scheduled Council business ahead of the upcoming Local Government Elections. Following the meeting, Council meetings will be suspended to allow for the Local Government Elections preparation period and will resume with the new council after 2 November 2026.<\/p>\n Following a certification ceremony where the outgoing Council received certificates of appreciation, the Council Speaker, Cllr Mfundo Bongela expressed appreciation to councillors, traditional leaders, municipal officials, government partners, stakeholders and communities for their contributions to the Council\u2019s success during the 2021\u20132026 term.<\/p>\n Concluding her SODA speech, the Executive Mayor reiterated that, while progress had been made, sustained efforts would be required to address outstanding service delivery challenges and build on the foundations established during the outgoing Council\u2019s term.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sterkspruit The Joe Gqabi District Municipality (JGDM) Executive Mayor, Councillor (Cllr) Nomvuyo Mposelwa, has recently<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1304"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1308,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304\/revisions\/1308"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}