Makhura puts Emfuleni under administration
Premier David Makhura on Monday announced a detailed and comprehensive plan to rescue the embattled Emfuleni municipality in Gauteng.
Emfuleni was put under administration because of allegations of maladministration and its inability to provide adequate services.
Makhura said the Emfuleni municipality would be placed under administration for six months. The provincial government would now take full financial control of the impoverished council.
“Section 139 of the Constitution … gives the provincial executive of a province the authority to intervene when the municipality cannot or does not fulfil its executive obligations‚” he said.
Makhura said the decision was taken to ensure that service delivery took place and to “ensure the financial viability through a financial recovery plan”. He said that the intervention would mainly focus on revenue collection.
During the briefing on Monday‚ the premier slammed claims that the move to place the ANC-run Emfuleni municipality under administration was linked to the struggle for control of the ANC in Gauteng.
SERVICES
Although Makhura indicated that the municipality was receiving threats from Eskom and Rand Water to cut off services, he vowed to work hand in hand with the mayor, Jacob Khawe, to bring about change to the municipality.
Meanwhile, the City of Johannesburg on Monday said it would seize property worth R300‚000 at Luthuli House in Johannesburg if the governing
party did not pay the money it owed to the city by Friday.
Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba said the metro had obtained a writ of execution against the ANC after it failed to pay R300‚000 in legal fees owed to the city.
“Should the ANC fail to honour this payment by Friday‚ June 15 2018‚ the city has instructed its lawyers to proceed with the execution of the court order‚ which will result in R300‚000 worth of property being seized from the ANC headquarters‚ Luthuli House‚ by the sheriff of the high court‚” Mashaba said.
“The days of the ANC being able to abuse public money in the City of Johannesburg are over and we will not hesitate to execute this court order should the ANC fail to make payment by Friday.”
NO CONFIDENCE
The ANC brought an urgent application on September 26 2017 at the High Court in Johannesburg to table a motion of no confidence in Mashaba and speaker Vasco da Gama during a council sitting.
Acting Judge Sydwell Shangisa scrapped the application from the roll‚ citing a lack of urgency. He ordered the ANC to pay the legal costs of both Mashaba and Da Gama.
Mashaba said: “This R300‚000 belongs to the residents of this city. Either the ANC is unable to make this payment due to its own financial challenges or it is the result of the ANC’s continuous and wilful disregard for public money.”