Cape Town – Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said the national team deployed to intervene in Mangaung Metro was not empowered to determine whether motions of no confidence in elected office bearers were to be allowed or not while the intervention was in place.
In a reply to parliamentary questions from DA MP Werner Horn, Dlamini Zuma said the scope and responsibilities of the intervention team were mainly related to the implementation of the financial recovery plan, and not extended to cover matters relating to political decisions.
“Municipal council resolutions on whether or not to remove an elected office bearer are not part of the implementation of the financial recovery plan. The procedural requirements pertaining to a political decision that a municipal council is entitled to take, are prescribed in Sections 29, 30, 40 and 58 of the Municipal Structures Act,” she said.
Responding to separate questions from EFF MP Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi, the minister said the Mangaung Metro was officially placed under administration by the Free State government in December 2019 due to a financial and service delivery crisis in the municipality.
Dlamini Zuma said no significant progress has been made to implement the financial recovery plan developed by National Treasury due to significant political interference in the administrative functioning of the metro.
“Cabinet received a formal request from the provincial executive for a national intervention,” she said.
Dlamini Zuma also said the cabinet approved a national intervention to create stability and improve service delivery in Mangaung Metro.
“A national cabinet representative supported by a multi-disciplinary team of experts are being deployed with responsibilities that will, among others, ensure and oversee the execution by the accounting officer … dealing with disciplinary matters, including criminal, disciplinary and civil action,” she said.
In another reply to DA MP Cilliers Brink, Dlamini Zuma said the intervention was jointly led by the Department of Cooperative Governance and the National Treasury.
The minister said she, together with senior officials from the department, attended and addressed a special council meeting of the metro on April 20.
“The purpose of the special council meeting was to communicate the cabinet decision for placing the metro under national intervention and the implications thereof,” she said.
Dlamini Zuma added that Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana published the terms of reference on April 28 to guide the work of the intervention team.
“The areas of financial management and the provision of services are among the various areas of work that the intervention team will be focusing on,” she said.
