Council rejects KZN’s plan for eMadlangeni

THE National Council of Provinces (NCOP) has rejected the KwaZulu-Natal government’s decision to place the eMadlangeni (Utrecht) municipality under administration.

This comes after the NCOP’s select committee on co-operative governance visited the municipality last week and interacted with stakeholders. The visit followed the provincial government’s decision to invoke Section 139 of the constitution amid a reported collapse of governance and service delivery in the municipality in January.

At the time of intervention, the ANC-led municipal council had been embroiled in infighting and unlawful council decisions had allegedly been made.

The municipal manager was also suspended and a person acting in his position reportedly did not meet the appointment requirements.

During the visit, the NCOP committee heard that opposition parties the DA and IFP opposed the intervention, while the ANC and EFF were in support of it.

The NCOP committee said the constitution required provincial governments to monitor and support local government, among other things, to carry out their mandate.

“Both national and provincial governments are required to support and strengthen the capacity of municipalities to manage their own affairs. Section 139 of the constitution (placing a municipality under administration) can only come into play when all forms of support have been exhausted,” the committee’s report said.

It also said since the intervention was instituted by the KZN Cogta, the administrator has not been appointed.

The NCOP has ordered that the South African Local Government Association facilitate training and capacity building for councillors. Cogta was ordered to table reports to the NCOP on performance and implementation of the municipality’s Back to Basics pillars.