The progress of the national government intervention in troubled Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality has been “generally slow” because of court battles and protests by civic organisations against the council.
This is according to Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs governance & traditional affairs (Cogta) deputy director-general for local government operations and support, Scelo Duma.
But a prominent Komani businessman has accused local municipal officials of collapsing the intervention.
Duma, alongside the director-general, Mbulelo Tshangana, Duma tabled a progress report on the implementation of 139(7) interventions in Enoch Mgijima, Mangaung and Lekwa municipalities to the Cogta portfolio committee on Wednesday.
They were classified as dysfunctional after the department assessed municipalities across the country.
“We are having a bit of resistance, a bit of pushback in the [Enoch Mgijima] municipality,” Duma said.
“Some civic groups want to force the national government to dissolve the municipal council [for allegedly failing to implement its financial recovery plan], but that matter is still to be ventilated in court so we will not dwell too much on that.”
Duma said litigation by aggrieved service providers relating to the awarding of tenders had also negatively affected the intervention.
“Fortunately, the municipality has been winning all these challenges,” he said.
To add to its woes, Enoch Mgijima owes Eskom R1.2bn.
Duma blamed residents who were failing to pay their accounts due to high unemployment in the area.
He said the municipality’s Eskom debt relief application had been successful.
“However, we are cautious in the sense that Enoch Mgijima has been struggling to settle their current account and it is the requirement of this debt relief that they must service their current account,” he said.
Duma said the national government was removing the national cabinet representatives sent to the three municipalities.
Municipal management would continue with the implementation of the national interventions.
He said the national government would monitor the interventions through monthly reports sent to the National Treasury and war rooms that sat regularly.
Duma admitted the progress was “not as fast as we would have wanted it to be”.
“We are working hard to ensure there’s an improvement,” he said.
Municipal spokesperson, Lonwabo Kowa, said the outstanding debt owed by the municipality to Eskom had resulted in an unfunded budget.
“The new payment plan has not yet been finalised, but the municipality is committed to making every effort to ensure the current account is properly serviced,” he said.
On the removal of the national cabinet representative, Kowa said Dr Monde Tom had completed his tenure in May when his contract with National Treasury expired.
“Enoch Mgijima is diligently carrying out the implementation of the financial recovery plan,” he said.
“Currently, the plan is in the rescue phase, and while progress is being made, the expected tangible results may not be fully realised at this stage.”
Businessman Ken Clark, who is among those who launched the court bid to have the municipality dissolved, accused municipal officials of sidelining Tom and his team.
“They would not allow them to do their work, constantly stood in the way,” Clark said.
“So, the ANC is no longer in town and has not even taken one administrative decision to try to rectify the problems.
“So the entire national intervention has collapsed.
“That is the very reason we are going to court because it has collapsed.
“It has been collapsed by this very municipality, which is supported by the ANC ... Parks Tau [Cogta deputy minister] has been down here a number of times.
“If you study the court documents between the NCR [national cabinet representative] and the council about the withholding of the equitable share because they weren’t doing the right things, the answer will be very evident.”
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