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DA calls for dissolution
Wants council to be dissolved and administrator appointed THE DA has announced in a media report on Thursday that the party will call for the dissolution of the Moqhaka Municipal Council. According to the DA, Moqhaka is in crisis. The DA wrote a letter to Premier Ace Magashule calling on him to initiate a provincial executive intervention in the Moqhaka Local Municipality under Section 139.(1)(c) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Section 139.(1)(c) of the Constitution allowed the provincial executive to dissolve the municipal council and appoint an administrator to manage the municipality’s affairs until elections had been held and a new municipal council had been elected, Patricia Kopana, provincial leader of the DA, said. Municipal workers are still on a slow-strike and tools down in protest against mismanagement at the Moqhaka Municipality. They call for the removal of the municipal manager. Earlier last week, the municipal manager, Mncedisi Mqwathi, unlawfully dismissed 33 municipal workers, claiming that they had interfered in his work. “It is clear that the administration of the municipality is in chaos. The Auditor-General’s 2012-’13 Moqhaka Local Municipality Annual Report shows just how bad things have become,” Kopana added. The AG report found irregular expenditure of R52 million and an additional R88 million written off, fruitless and wasteful expenditure amounting to R19 million, and awards were made to bidders other than those recommended by the bid evaluation committee without ratification by the accounting officer, as required by SCM regulation 29(5)(b). Furthermore, the accounting officer (Mqwathi) did not establish processes to prevent and detect unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure; he also did not compile and approve delegations when the new council was appointed at the municipality; nor establish internal controls to ensure that all laws and regulations had been complied with. “The Moqhaka Municipality is technically bankrupt as its liabilities far outstrip its assets,” Kopana claimed. Her party believes the root of the problem is that Mqwathi and the council’s political leadership are in cahoots and are allowing the administration of the municipality to fall apart. On numerous occasions, the DA in
Verfraai veld met prag DIÉ kosmos gedy naby die rioolpompaanleg in Gelukwaarts, Maokeng. Tussen die oorstromende riool het dié vrolike blomme ’n besoek aan die township makliker gemaak. Lees op bl. 3 in watter omstandighede inwoners van Maokeng moet leef. Foto: Tharine Hurter
Moqhaka called for the dismissal of Mqwathi, tabling numerous Motions of No Confidence in his ability to execute his duties. “These have been ignored by the council speaker, Disebo Nakedi. Furthermore, the executive mayor, Jihad Mohapi, has refused to heed the DA’s persistent calls for the suspension of Mqwathi.
“The bottom line is that the failure in proper financial administration is leading to a total collapse of service delivery in the Moqhaka Municipality,” Kopana said. “The council should be dissolved immediately and the people should be given the opportunity to elect new representatives to lead the municipality out of its current mess.
“This is a sad example of how corruption, crony politics and mismanagement have crept into the way the Zuma ANC operates. Ultimately, the connected politicians win and the people lose. “We believe the people of Moqhaka should have an opportunity to have their voices heard on the sad state of affairs in this municipality,” Kopana concluded.