The DA in the Mangaung Metro Municipality has strongly warned national government against repeating the Free State government’s mistake of failing to ensure compliance in an concerted effort to revive the broke municipality.
Evidence suggests that a dismal failure to implement the financial recovery plan in fact worsened the situation.
The metro was placed under administration in December 2019 owing to an inability to effectively manage affairs. The ANC-led municipality was further hamstrung by a bitter power struggle involving party members.
Johan Pretorius, DA Mangaung caucus leader, has attributed the metro being in shambles to officials and executive politicians’ attitude.
“The DA is strongly of the opinion that the terms of reference must remove the powers from the ANC executive, because of the factional fights in the party. The officials and the executive have no respect for legislation and the constitution,” said Pretorius.
“The national government must put the interests of residents above those of ANC factions.
“Either a new financial recovery plan will have to be devised for the municipality, or the existing one implemented by national government. Otherwise, the intervention will be doomed to fail,” said Pretorius, adding that the DA welcomed the cabinet decision to place Mangaung under national government administration.
According to Pretorius, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), has echoed the sentiments about the inability of the provincial government to revive Mangaung.
“The cabinet has confirmed what the DA told the national minister Dlamini-Zuma earlier this year: No financial recovery plan has ever been implemented in Mangaung despite a 2020 decision to do so.”
Pretorius has stressed the importance of decisive action by national government to ensure defaulting Free State government departments pay their municipal accounts. Provincial departments’ failure to service their accounts has been highlighted as one of the distinct contributers to the bankruptcy of the metro.
Pretorius has further emphasised the importance of Dlamini-Zuma prioritising drafting the terms of reference and approval thereof by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) to ensure revival of the dysfunctional metro.
“The DA will request the administrator to appoint an independent forensic investigation and skills audit on the officials in the metro, and the results must be published to provide true transparency to the ratepayers, residents, developers and businesses of Mangaung.”
The national government must put the interests of residents above those of ANC factions
– Johan Pretorius
