Community needs to vote for change, says businessman
The business community in the struggling Enoch Mgijima local municipality does not seem to have reaped the rewards of SA’S 30 years of democracy and is urging citizens make their voices heard on May 29.
Along with the residents, the sector has had to endure years of frustration as service delivery deteriorates.
Renowned Komani businessman Ken Clark, who contested the 2021 local government election as the mayoral candidate for The Independents, a group of independent candidates, said the municipality should shoulder the blame for its service delivery failures, resulting in it being ranked among the worstrun councils in SA.
Business confidence was “at an all-time low”.
The municipality was battling to provide its residents with basic services such as water, electricity and refuse collection. It was also struggling to fix potholes and sanitation problems.
It is under the intervention of the national government, but national co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) officials in 2023 described recovery progress as slower than expected.
In 2022, Dr Monde Tom was introduced as the national government representative in the Enoch Mjima municipality.
He has since left after investigating the municipality and tabling his report on its state of affairs.
This week Clark told the Dispatch that the municipality was not collecting the funds due to it.
“It is not invoicing everyone for the electricity they consume and therefore it cannot pay Eskom what is owed,” he said.
“It has a serious lack of capacity in all spheres and is unable to deliver efficient services.”
Clark, whose independents are only registered for local government elections, said rampant maladministration was crippling the municipality, which was why it had been put under administration three times and under national administration in 2022.
Tom did an in-depth investigation into the municipality’s affairs and tabled a plan to restore the municipality as a functional institution.
But Clark said those efforts were undermined and received no co-operation from the council.
“The council also defied national government instructions.
“The Enoch Mgijima local municipality has been labelled the worst municipality in the country it’s dysfunctional and everyone knows that.”
A video clip circulating on social media shows communications minister Mondli Gungubele showering Enoch Mgijima municipality mayor Madoda Papiyane with praise.
Though Gungubele admitted that Komani had had problems for a long time, he said Papiyane had turned things around.
“The business community is happy there,” Gungubele says in the 28-second video.
However, Clark disagreed with this.
“Business is definitely not happy that the municipality is not meeting its obligations.
“Business confidence is at an all-time low and people are leaving town at an alarming rate, as can be seen by the number of houses on the market.
“This starts a downward spiral which, if left unchecked, will lead to devastating consequence for jobs in the area.”
Community organisations launched a court bid to have the council dissolved, yet this was costly and had yielded limited results, Clark said.
“The time has come for people to understand that change is needed and they have the power to effect change by voting differently.”
Municipal spokesperson Lonwabo Kowa said it was incorrect to classify the municipality as dysfunctional.
On the national intervention, Kowa said Enoch Mgiijima reported to the National Treasury on a monthly basis and progress had been noted.
He said Tom had had a contract with National Treasury and when it expired, he left.
“He never made any report in which he complained about sabotage as management cooperated with his team.
“This municipality is led and managed by competent individuals and is currently standing at a qualified audit outcome.”
On the R1bn Eskom debt, Kowa said Enoch Mgijima was one of the municipalities approved for debt relief and the debt would be written off after three years.
Business confidence is at an all-time low and people are leaving the town