Section 139 Intervention: Tshwane Municipality

Meeting Summary

This meeting took place in Gauteng and PMG was not in attendance.

At the meeting, the Select Committee approved the dissolution of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality by the Gauteng Provincial Government.

 The Select Committee recommended the approval of the intervention following a two-day inspection visit to Tshwane on the 17 to 18 March, to fully investigate the circumstances under which the Gauteng provincial government invoked section 139(1)(c) of the Constitution on March 4, 2020.
 
The Gauteng government invoked section 139(1)(c) arguing that the Tshwane municipality was unable to fulfill its executive obligations in terms of the Constitution and that exceptional circumstances existed, warranting its dissolution.
 
During its visit, the Select Committee interacted with both the internal and external stakeholders in order to solicit their views and opinions on the constitutional, procedural and substantive matters related to the invocation of section 139(1)(c).
 
The Committee received presentations from six of the seven political parties represented in the Council as well as from workers union, the representatives from local government, the traditional leadership, the youth and women forums, the civic associations and the business federations.
 
Reasons put forward for the dissolution included, the observed dysfunctionality of the municipality as it could not hold successful meetings for over two-months, following disruptions, walkouts and the unlawful conduct of the Speaker of City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. In its submission to the NCOP's Select Committee, the Gauteng provincial government argued that “there is paralysis in the municipality because there is no Executive Mayor, no mayoral committee and no substantive city manager.”