Durban - The Msunduzi Municipality is to meet the department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) to get clarity on its decisions to keep the municipality under administration for another six months.
Municipal manager Lulamile Mapholoba said the mayor, Mzimkhulu Thebolla, had requested a meeting with the Cogta MEC Bongi Sithole-Moloi. He said the municipality had been taken aback by the Cogta announcement as they believed that Msunduzi, which has been under administration for the past few years, was ready to govern itself.
The announcement was made in a notice from the MEC to the speaker of the provincial legislature Nontembeko Boyce.
The notice said several municipalities, including Msunduzi, Mpofana, Inkosi Langalibalele, Abaqulusi, Mtubatuba, uMzinyathi, uThukela and uMkhanyakude, should remain under administration until October 31.
Mapholoba yesterday said: “We have seen the notice and we will take it to council on Tuesday. The notice does not give reasons and the mayor Thebolla has requested a meeting with the MEC to find out if there are areas that we should be firming up on.”
He said the municipality was ready to come out of administration.
“The last report that we received (a month ago) from the administrator was that the municipal is doing really well,” he said.
However, he added that they respected the decision by the provincial executive and would wait to find out the reasons so they could address the challenges that remained.
The notice said there had been visible improvement in Msunduzi, Mpofana and Inkosi Langalibalele.
However, it said Msunduzi has since “regressed to a qualified audit outcome”. It said the uThukela, Abaqulusi, uMzinyathi and Mtubatuba municipalities have stabilised politically but had serious cash flow and other complex financial and service delivery challenges, which required extraordinary measures.
DA spokesperson on Cogta, Martin Meyer, said the announcement raised serious questions around the effectiveness of provincial administration and the capability of administrators deployed to these municipalities.
“Her comments on several municipalities also show a blind spot when it comes to the reality on the ground. In terms of uThukela, the MEC’s notice states that the political situation within the municipality has stabilised. This while Cogta recently dispatched representatives to call special council meetings relating to motions of no-confidence, ultimately leading to a court battle.
“The MEC also states that the situation within Msunduzi has improved, with the worsening auditor-general report cited as the only real concern. Yet KZN’s capital city continues to suffer massive infrastructure failings and has a critical cash-in-hand problem,” he said.
ACDP councillor in Msunduzi, Rienus Niemand, said since the municipality was placed under administration, the situation had deteriorated with theft of services escalating, further compromising finances.