In efforts to deliver services to communities of the City of Ekurhuleni, the City Manager Kagiso Lerutla is prioritising the wellbeing, safety and capacitation of general workers, and recognising their critical role.
With the official launch of a service delivery programme, titled “Fixing the Frontline,” Lerutla spent his Tuesday morning, 13 January 2026, engaging depot-based employees and general workers to assess their working conditions, listen to operational challenges, and reinforce a culture of accountability, support and performance at the frontline.
While focusing on fixing and capacitating municipal depots to function effectively as frontline service delivery hubs, Lerutla indicated that the depots are essential to service delivery.
“We are on the ground to assess the conditions of the depots, to assess the PPEs that our staff requires. And also to get the sense of what are the challenges that are preventing them to ensure that they perform service delivery at the optimal level.
“We will understand colleagues that the responsibility of the municipality is to provide service delivery to the residents. And ours is to do it through our own human capital,” said Lerutla.
Lerutla engaged directly with general workers and depot staff to strengthen morale, skills development, wellbeing and accountability.
According to the City, this is also part of ensuring depots are fit-for-purpose to deliver reliable, responsive and sustainable services to communities.
After his meeting with some of the workers, Lerutla indicated that the municipal management the engagement was a success.
“We want to reduce the over reliance on contracted services. Hence we are also here to assess the staff morale.
“And with our officials we have a very fruitful engagement. They’ve raised the issues that they will want the management to look into and we have assured them that the team will come back with a report,” Lerutla said.
While talking to City Report, Lerutla said this is part of restoring functionality, efficiency and professionalism at municipal depots, which serve as the City’s primary frontline service delivery nodes. He desire to avoid extensive board meetings and office work, in favor of more active, hands-on community and staff engagement, and service delivery.
“In closing, I just want to indicate that we don’t want to be the City Managers who are sitting in the boardrooms. We want to be on the ground so that we get the real sense of what is really happening. When you are on the ground, you are able to assess the situation and to guide the staff and provide a direction quickly.”
