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Parliament’s select committee recommends dissolution of Ditsobotla Local Municipality

4 October 2022, 4:35 PM |

Mpho Lepedi | @SABCNews

A sign board indicating you are entering the North West province.

Image: SABC News

A sign board indicating you are entering the North West province.

Parliament’s Select Committee on Cooperative Governance has resolved to recommend to the National Council of Provinces to approve the dissolution of the Ditsobotla Local Municipality in the North West.

This after its recent visit to the municipality where they confirmed the inability of the municipality to deliver adequate services to its communities due to maladministration, including two parallel forces of power operating in the municipality.

The municipality – said to be operated by two mayors, and two chief whips – was found to be facing serious challenges of financial mismanagement, inadequate service delivery and lapses in government.

The select committee had resolved that these challenges carry enough weight for the dissDissolution challengedolution of the municipality.

Dissolution challenged

Some councillors at the Litchtenburg-based Ditsobotla Local Council in the North West have, through their legal representative, written to the North West provincial government, challenging the dissolution of the council and the subsequent appointment of an administrator. This is as the beleaguered municipal council is reportedly dysfunctional and unable to execute its constitutional obligations.

According to papers written by the legal representatives of the affected councillors in possession of SABC News, they argue that the processes followed to dissolve the municipal council are flawed.

Chairperson for the Select Committee of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), China Dodovu, has confirmed that his committee received a letter from the provincial government in respect of the dissolution of the Ditsobotla Municipal Council.

“In respect of the process to be followed thereafter, the NCOP is expected within 14 days, to either approve or disapprove the intervention. If the NCOP approves the intervention it means that the municipality is dissolved. If it disapproves it, it means that the decision of the executive council of the North West province is nullified”, says Dodovu.

Municipality Disbanded, 21 September 2022;

The council was disbanded following the announcement by the provincial Department of Human Settlement, Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs that the Ditsobotla council was dysfunctional and failed to execute its constitutional obligation.

Consequently, its R300 million equitable shares were withheld by Treasury. This has also affected workers, who have not been paid for two months.

Tsholofelo Mathibedi, Spokesperson for the provincial Department of Human Settlement, Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, says the municipality was unwilling to receive help.

“The situation in Ditsobotla went unabated and they never came on board to be assisted. So, that left the MEC with no choice. So, we would want concurrency from the Exco to then put the municipality under section 139 1 (C) of the constitution which (will lead) to the dissolution of that municipality,” says Mathibedi.

Ditsobotla Local Municipality had two municipal managers, two mayors and two council speakers.

In June the council held two council meetings; one at the municipality premises, while the other one took place at the premises of Mahikeng Local Municipality.

Parallel Councils, 15 June 2022;