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The Democratic Alliance in North West and the leadership in our province urgently call on the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Zweli Mkhize, to intervene in Madibeng Municipality.

This comes after Ratings Afrika last week published its latest Municipal Financial Sustainability Index, revealing Madibeng municipality to be the worst municipality in the country. The municipality only scored 6 out of 100 on the index - the lowest of all municipalities across the country - and the report stated that "the weakest provinces are Free State and North West, with average scores of 19 and 23 respectively".

Madibeng has been placed under administration before but with no success. The municipality is billion of rands in the red and owes Eskom millions.

National government has intervened on several occasions: In 2011 the municipality was put under general administration; in 2015, water services were put under administration and in 2015/2016 the municipality was again put under general administration. Yet, none of these interventions succeeded and today the municipality is worse off than it has ever been before.

During the visit by the Inter-Ministerial Task Team (IMTT), headed by Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to the municipality last week, the Executive Mayor, Jostina Mothibe, misrepresented the municipality and misled the IMTT on several issues. This includes her claim that the Municipal Public Accounts Committee is functioning optimally while in fact the committee is suppressed so that no action is taken.

The anti-corruption committee which she asserted is in place and functioning has not led to a single case in which an official has been prosecuted, despite evidence and information provided to the managers of the departments concerned.

In one instance an official  was suspended seven years ago and still receives his full salary and has not been prosecuted.

She claimed that portfolio committees meet on a monthly basis while in fact, some committees met only once in two years.

It is now time for national government to once and for all put an end to the chaos and mismanagement that is Madibeng municipality. It is clear that Mayor Mothibe's representation of the municipality is far from realistic or accurate and a mere attempt to cover up mismanagement and incompetence.

This is why the DA has brought a Motion of No Confidence in the Mayor that will be tabled in council on 28 May 2018. The people of this municipality have suffered way too long and it is time for urgent and much-needed change.

The DA will do everything in its power to prevent this municipality from further deterioration and we will continue to fight for change that will better the lives or the people of Madibeng.

Issued by DA