Government to take charge of two ANC-led municipalities again

The national government is again set to take charge of two ANC-led municipalities, the Enoch Mgijima local municipality in the Eastern Cape and Mangaung metro in the Free State after a series of governance failures and financial mismanagement.

The decision by the cabinet is a big blow to the party and could paint a picture of an organisation failing to deliver on its promises to the electorate of clean and efficient governance. It also comes at a bad time as the party is preparing for national elections in 2024.

Mangaung, one of SA’s eight metros, has failed on multiple fronts and was placed under administration in December 2019 after it was unable to implement a financial recovery plan from the previous year. 

The recovery plan  was  aimed at putting it back on a sound financial  footing but it has not been implemented for the past two years, leading to a deterioration of service delivery in the metro, which includes the city of Bloemfontein.

Mangaung is one of two metros in which the ANC won by a majority vote in 2021’s local government elections. However, infighting among rival factions in the ANC in the region has wreaked havoc on a municipal mandate to deliver services, leading to the co-operative governance & traditional affairs committee chair in parliament, China Dodovu, last month warning of a  possible collapse of the metro.

Similarly, years of financial mismanagement at Enoch Mgijima municipality in the Chris Hani District have seen it failing to meet its citizens’ basic needs. The municipality hogged the spotlight for the wrong reason in 2021 when municipal officials unveiled the R15m Enoch Mgijima stadium, which had no  functioning facilities. It is being investigated by the Hawks and the public protector.

The municipality was placed under provincial  administration in March 2020 but that has failed to yield results, prompting the national government to intervene again.

The Enoch Mgijima municipality was formed after the amalgamation of Lukhanji municipality with Tsolwana and Inkwanca municipalities in August 2016. 

“Both municipalities have been experiencing significant financial and service delivery failures for a prolonged period,” the government said in a statement on Thursday after a cabinet meeting.

“This type of intervention is mandatory and follows the same procedure as section 139(5) of the constitution, except that the national government will now directly assume responsibility for these interventions,” the government said.

Invoking section 139 means the affairs of the municipality would be placed under the national government instead of elected municipal officials. The municipal councils as sworn in during November 2021 will, however, remain in place as no decision to dissolve it has yet been made.

The government is yet to gazette its decision.

National cabinet representatives will be deployed to the municipalities to drive the national interventions.

“The minister of finance will delegate powers to the [representatives] and will also be supported by a multidisciplinary team of experts. No decision has yet been taken to dissolve the municipal council in terms of section 139(5)(b) of the constitution,” said the statement.

maekot@businesslive.co.za