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Pursuant to these findings it became necessary to find out from the stakeholders like
municipal workers, municipal management and decision-makers ifthere were knowledge and
skills needed in the study area to ameliorate the negative situation discovered. In this regard,
Table 6.28 shows the perceived level of technical knowledge and skill of the Ulundi Local
Municipality in 2007. The needed knowledge and skills in the study area include fire fighters,
tourism practitioners and resource managers. The members ofthe community are supposed to
Table
6.28: Perceived needed technical knowledl!e and skills of U1undi in 2007
Needed technical Cumulative
Frequency Percentage
knowledge & skill
percentage
Yes 4.5 18 18
No 16.5 66 84
N/A 4 16 100
Total 25 100 100
have full knowledge of the situation and operations of the Ulundi Local Municipality as per
IDP dictates. The IDP is the basis of planning, budget and needs identification. The
members of the community have active participatory role to fulfil in its establishment. The
needed technical knowledge and skills based on the needs analysis in the IDP should therefore
be in the public domain. Approximately 18% respondents felt that there was the needed
knowledge and skill in the study area, whereas the majority (66%) in contrast indicated that
there was lack of needed knowledge and skill to provide the basic services in the local
municipality. About 16% ofrespondents did not know much about the existing and expected
skill and knowledge in the study area. From this finding it may be inferred that the situation
of Ulundi in the context of limited skill may undermine the spatial development efforts of the
study area
The Ulundi Local Municipality in 2007 faced a budget deficit due to the fact that its
expenditure was far greater than its income. Amount of R54 million and RJO million were
used on salaries and other expenses respectively, and that outweighed its total income. The
municipality received an amount of R15,6 million and RI8 million as payments for services
rendered and government grant respectively this year. It was faced with a huge budget deficit
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