Intervention not political – Makhura
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 upcoming 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 municipality’s capacity to deliver services.
The move saw Emfuleni mayor Jacob Khawe tendering his resignation before the party’s provincial leadership asked him to reverse his decision 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, during which he is set to be elected provincial chairperson.
The league is leading a grouping within the ANC who are pushing for Khawe to con- test current provincial secretary Hope Papo, who is seeking re-election, while it wants former ANCYL provincial chairperson Lebogang Maile to become deputy chairperson.
Makhura said 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 and wait for them to deal with service delivery. I work on the basis that I am premier of this province. If there is a problem in a municipality in Gauteng, leave politics out of it. I cannot sit back,” he said.
“If that municipality collapses and then there is no services there, the communities then rise and say I must explain that because I was afraid to intervene because the constitution says that is what the provincial government must do,” Makhura said.
He said he was unfazed by those who called his decision on the municipality as politically motivated, adding that the ANC-led alliance in the region had welcomed his intervention.
Makhura said that since November 2015, the provincial treasury and the Co-operative Governance Department had been working with the municipality with the aim of providing institutional support and help strengthen the municipality’s capacity to perform its functions, but things had worsened.
Despite the hard work by Khawe and the leadership in the municipality, the financial position of the municipality had deteriorated to a point where it was unable to provide basic services, Makhura said.
“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 the province 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 budgets, as they were located in financially distressed areas.
Eskom and Rand Water had sometimes switched off water and electricity supply in some areas of the municipality for non-payment.
The intervention plan by the provincial administration over the next six months will include enhancement of revenue collection and service delivery, with a focus on stormwater infrastructure, sanitation, cleaning and waste management, and human settlements.
Makhura said while he was being accused of abusing his power, he was working well with Khawe, adding they would meet every month over the next six month to assess progress.
“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.