Government officials must pull up their socks and start delivering services to the public.

That was the message from Gauteng Premier David Makhura during his visit to Hammanskraal on Monday.

“We want everybody to pick up their socks. There must be urgency in our response to service delivery concerns (from) our communities,” said Makhura.

He added that government was intensifying its fight to deliver better services for residents of the province. He said backlogs had been identified and they were working towards resolving them.

Makhura said there had been too many cases where projects had been delayed or stopped.

He said they were trying to eliminate bureaucracy and red tape by being on the ground and getting a first hand account of the problems faced by communities.

“The officials don’t need to give us reports, we want to come on site and inspect. If something was supposed to have been done, but has not (been done), heads will roll.”

Makhura and Tshwane Mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa led a delegation to the area to assess progress in delivering government services. The team visited the area of Babelegi to witness the state of factories and the intervention needed from government.

They also visited Kanana township to inspect progress on construction of RDP houses. The team only found one completed house, which is being used as a show house. Makhura and Ramokgopa asked the contractor why it was taking such a long time to complete other houses.

The contractor, who has been in the area for more than three months, said it took two weeks to complete one structure, but claimed the delay was due to the specification of houses that was recently changed.

'We want our officials to account'

The contractor said the building quantum and price range had been moved from R60 000 per house to R100 000, which effectively meant they could only lay the foundation and walls, but could not complete the job as that contract was still waiting authorisation.

Makhura gave the contractor until the end of September to complete the houses.

“There was a delay in the completion of the houses, but we have given a time frame. At the end of September, we want to hand over those houses,” he said.

He added that it was important to address the problems that residents raised, as they eventually led to service delivery protests.

“If they say the following things were supposed to happen, but they have not been done, we want our officials to account,” said Makhura.

The delegation also visited Babelegi Industrial Park in Hammanskraal and spoke about plans to revive the park so that the economy of the area can thrive. He said the economy of Hammanskraal should be anchored in Babelegi.

News24.com