A protracted legal tussle is ensuing between the embattled Mangaung Metro and the Free State Co-operative Governance Department. The Department has filed an urgent High Court application to annul several decisions taken by the Mangaung Metro Council.
Government says the disputed decisions were designed to frustrate the municipality’s financial recovery plan.
In papers before the court, government has submitted that the special council meeting was not lawfully convened and that Speaker, Stefani Lockman-Naidoo, did not convene the meeting on her own accord. Instead, the meeting was convened at the behest of two African National Congress councillors and 17 Economic Freedom Fighters caucus members.
The disputed meeting led to the removal of Acting Municipal Manager, Sello More, who was eventually replaced by Teboho Maine.
ANC caucus in the Mangaung Metro stands by its decision to appoint Sello More as Acting City Manager:
The removal of More was preceded by a scathing court judgment, which declared that Free State Co-operative Governance MEC, Mxolisi Dukwana, had acted unlawfully by appointing More.
Government is seeking an interdict to prevent Maine from resuming duties as Acting City Manager.
Free State Co-operative Governance head, Mokete Duma, insists that they are acting to ensure political and administrative stability in the Metro.
“There is no effective service delivery that is happening and that is where our concern is. Hence, we have gone to the court to place our argument before the court to say certain things need to be done right in the metro. So that we do not have all these shenanigans that are happening, because the way things are is like is a playing field. Majority of those councillors have just been elected, is hardly a month and if there are infights amongst themselves so imagine what five years will be.”
The Free State Co-operative Governance further contends that resolutions taken at the special council meeting were meant to derail the implementation of the mandatory financial recovery plan imposed on the municipality.
And that this would eventually ensure that the appointment of personnel in the purported metro police takes effect.
Treasury has already written to the two warring bodies about the financial risk of establishing the Metro Police in Mangaung.
Mangaung was placed under administration just over two years ago for failing to implement a financial recovery plan.
Mangaung Democratic Alliance caucus leader, Johan Pretorius, has blamed factional divisions on the ANC.
“When they made the decision to appoint the Acting City Manager, Sello More … so, in our opinion, we strongly believe that there was no quorum. Even the Section 79 committee chairpersons were elected on that meeting. And if that meeting was not forming a quorum, it was unlawful. It means those councillors must pay their salaries back that they’ve received up to now. So, I think the administration must look into that first.”
Mangaung EFF Chairperson, Gopolang Lipale, has questioned the involvement of Free State Co-operative Governance MEC Mxolisi Dukwana in the Mangaung saga.
“The council has the right to appoint or fire the city manager. Therefore, we are not there yet whereby we should be consulting with the MEC Dukwana. It seems as if Dukwana is very much involved in the shenanigans that are happening around Mangaung.”
