Makhura denies crackdown is politically motivated
GAUTENG Premier David Makhura has moved to refute allegations that his tough stance on poor governance was aimed at targeting political opponents ahead of the ANC’s provincial conference.
Yesterday, Makhura – also acting ANC provincial chairperson – detailed reasons for his decision to place Emfuleni municipality in the Sedibeng region under administration, following persistent financial woes that crippled the council’s capacity to deliver services.
Makhura’s move saw Emfuleni mayor Jacob Khawe tendering his resignation, before the party’s provincial leadership asked him to reverse it and continue to serve.
The ANC Youth league has described the decision as attempts by Makhura to neutralise those he did not want to serve with ahead of the conference, where he is set to be elected provincial chairperson.
The league is leading a grouping within the ANC which is pushing for Khawe to contest current provincial secretary Hope Papo, who is seeking re-election, while it wants former ANCYL provincial chairperson and current economic development MEC Lebogang Maile to become deputy chairperson.
Yesterday, Makhura said that while he had confidence in Khawe as the mayor in the municipality, he had no choice but to intervene to ensure stability.
“ANC conferences come and go and we cannot sit waiting for them to deal with service delivery.
“I work on the basis that I am a premier of this province. If there is a problem in a municipality in Gauteng, leave out the politics of it. I cannot sit back,” he said.
Makhura said he was unfazed by those who called his decision to take over the control of the municipality politically motivated, adding that the ANC-led alliance in the region had welcomed his intervention in the municipality.
“Simply stated, what started as a financial problem has now become a problem of service delivery. This is a serious situation that warrants a more comprehensive intervention. Section 139 of the constitution gives the provincial executive of a province the authority to intervene when a municipality cannot or does not fulfil its executive obligations,” Makhura said.
Emfuleni is one of the country’s many municipalities which did not have an adequate revenue base to fund their budget, as they were located in financially distressed areas.
Makhura said while he was being accused of abusing his power, he was working well with Khawe, adding that they would meet every month over the next six months to assess progress of the intervention.
“There is no municipality that will collapse on my watch, whoever is governing there. Even if I am accused of these things, it comes with the job,” he said.
Khawe could not be reached for comment yesterday.