Gauteng must intervene urgently in Mogale City

The paralysis in governance  in Mogale City Local Municipality has resulted in the council failing to meet its legislative duties.

OUTA’s Inland Regional Manager Michael Holenstein says if the Gauteng government does not intervene immediately, it will be “tantamount to a dereliction of duty”.

This position the municipality finds itself in is due to the tragic passing of Mogale City mayor Patrick Lipudi, on 12 January 2020. However, the reality is the municipality must continue to function, says Holenstein.

“Under the current circumstances, Mogale City cannot fulfil its executive obligations in terms of the Constitution and national legislation. OUTA calls on the provincial executive and the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Lebogang Maile to ensure that the necessary steps are taken to fill the vacancy of mayor without any further delay,” says Holenstein.

Holenstein says matters that have not been tended to include the tabling before council of the 2018/19 annual report which should have been done before the end of January, the oversight of various departmental reports, and the tabling of the monthly financial reports for December 2019 and January 2020.

Holenstein says the failure to carry out critical executive oversight functions which are required for tabling the 2020/21 Draft Budget and Integrated Development Plan (IDP) by no later than 31 March, was equally concerning.

He says a Municipal Planning Tribunal, as required by the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act to deal with land-use appeals, has still not been established since the Act was gazetted in 2015, resulting in undue delays with land-use applications and the commencement of developmental projects.

“Section 139 of the Municipal Finance Management Act places the onus on the provincial government to intervene when a municipality fails to meet its required obligations. The Act allows for various stages of intervention from simply issuing a notice requesting the municipality to carry out its duties, to assuming certain duties where the municipality may lack the capacity or, in worst-case scenarios, dissolving the municipal council. The provincial government must intervene before it is too late,” says Holenstein.

 

Picture: Google Street View

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