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The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape wrote to Premier Zamani Saul and Bentley Vass, MEC for Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements & Traditional Affairs, to provide reasons for the threatened dissolution of the Umsobomvu Local Municipality.

This comes after recent threats by Vass to dissolve the municipality, apparently due to poor municipal financial management.

While Umsobomvu could and should do much better in managing its finances, it seems as though finances are used as an excuse for infighting among the ANC. If poor audit outcomes are the true motivating factor, almost every municipality in the province should be dissolved!

In March, I also asked for the report of an investigation into municipal mismanagement by the Northern Cape Department of Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements & Traditional Affairs. Although officials spoke of this report in a council meeting held in February, no copy of the report was ever made available.

I have gotten an acknowledgement of receipt, but I’m still waiting for this report and for the reasons why Vass wants to dissolve Umsombovu. I am also waiting for clarity on the kind of interventions implemented by the provincial government before threatening to dissolve. Specific criteria are outlined before a municipality can be placed under administration in terms of section 139 of the Constitution and evidence of interventions has to be demonstrated.

It will not be the first time that the ANC would rather collapse a municipality than resolve its internal struggles. Renosterberg and Phokwane had similar experiences. The lack of political maturity in the ranks of the ANC should not come at the cost of service delivery and to the detriment of local communities. There must be interventions aligned to core mandates, not internal politics.

In the absence of any truthful reply, we can reach our own conclusions about why Umsobomvu might be dissolved.

Issued by The DA