Parliament, Sunday, 20 March 2022 – The Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Water and Sanitation is concerned that the City of Mangaung has shown complete disregard of the work of the committee which in its view undercuts efforts to save the city which continues to face challenges resulting in non-delivery of services. The committee met the provincial executive and the city to get an update on the Section 139(5)(a) & (c) invoked by the Free State provincial government.
“It is utterly unacceptable that despite postponement earlier to give the municipality space to prepare a comprehensive report on progress made, the municipality decided to come to the meeting unprepared and without a report. The City of Mangaung has shown explicit disrespect for the committee and Parliament,” said Mr China Dodovu.
It is also concerning that the contribution of the South African Local Government Association has highlighted the continued deterioration of the state of the city, with concerns that the political leadership within the municipality was fraught with divisions paralising the city even further. Furthermore, the committee is concerned that despite the fact that council is only four months old the challenges persist leading to fears that the municipality might collapse. “The unfortunate consequence of the utter disrespect is the lack of service delivery to the people of Mangaung who expect quality service delivery,” Mr Dodovu emphasized.
The committee reminds the leadership of the city that the Constitution empowers the committee and the National Council of Provinces with the authority to approve the dissolution of the municipality. The committee is of the considered view that it will not accept the further deterioration of the municipality and will invoke its powers if no improvement is seen.
The committee expected a comprehensive report on the progress thus far in improving the state of the city, including the functionality of the council, financial state of the city, expenditure trends and revenue collection, the establishment of metro police in the city, delivery of infrastructure development projects especially in relation to water and road infrastructure, as well as relations with the labour union.
As a result, the committee postponed the meeting to next week to allow the city, Provincial Executive, SALGA and labour the space to compile and share the report with the committee. “We do this purely to arrest the decline in the city and ensure that we urgently deal with the challenges it faces. This information is necessary for the committee to make an informed decision on the progress of the intervention which is necessary for the future of the city,” Mr Dodovu emphasized.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON COOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AND TRADITIONAL AFFAIRS, MR CHINA DODOVU
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Malatswa Molepo (Mr)
Parliamentary Communication Services
Tel: 021 403 8438
Cell: 081 512 7920
E-mail: mmolepo@parliament.gov.za
Arrange a tour