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also rated it as good and very good respectively. More than half respondents did not express
their view on the said matter due to their little knowledge and information about it. The
Municipality had set up performance target/deliverables to monitor skill levels of staff. In
spite of the above mentioned claim by the management of the local municipality, the skills
level ofthe municipal staff needs to be improved through skill development programmes. A
majority of the interviewees (two-thirds) saw the local municipality as not having the
requisite capacity to handle service delivery and its efficiency. About two in five of the
respondents knew little about the existing municipal capacity and therefore could not
comment about it.
Approximately one in five respondents felt that there was the needed knowledge and skill in
the study area, whereas the majority (two-thirds) in contrast indicated that there was lack of
needed knowledge and skill to fulfil the constitutional mandate of the Local Municipality.
Just below two in five respondents did not know much about the existing and expected skill
and knowledge in the study area.
Generally, most household heads (over half) indicated a poor level of financial management.
Approximately two in five felt that the level ofefficiency offinancial management was on the
average. Meanwhile close to two in five respondents saw excellence in the way and manner
finances were managed in the local municipality. Whilst about less than one in ten accorded
it a good rating, an equally less than one in ten concluded that the financial section of the
Local Municipality was doing a very good job.
The rates and consumer debtors have continued to escalate in the Ulundi Municipality. The
failure by the community of Ulundi to meet its financial obligations to the Municipality was
having a negative financial effect to the extent that statutory reserves were being utilised to
fund debtors, with the result that little or no funds were available for infrastructure expansion
and or replacement. The lOP of Ulundi municipality was therefore restricted to projects
funded by way ofgrants.
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