Question NW1010 to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

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11 April 2023 - NW1010

Profile picture: Ceza, Mr K

Ceza, Mr K to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

(a) By what date will section 139(1)(c) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, be invoked in municipalities such as the eMfuleni Local Municipality, where there are clear signs of political interference and (b) how will her department resolve the environment of fear of the supply chain official which has negatively affected the prospects for successful interventions?

Reply:

In terms of the Constitution (Section 139 and its subsections) the prerogative to intervene in municipalities is bestowed upon the Provincial Government, having assessed the municipal deficiencies in fulfilling its Executive Obligations. Such an assessment ought to establish ‘clearly’, amongst others, political interference as a factor.

To the extent that two interventions were invoked in Emfuleni local municipality, with another recently terminated, a close-out report is being prepared by the Gauteng Provincial Executive Committee, which should indicate the nature and extent of the challenges that remain, and the proposed plan to address those, and whether political interference is among the remaining challenges.

The Emfuleni intervention close-out report should likewise indicate progress made on instituting disciplinary processes, where evidence exist, on officials identified to have transgressed the prescripts governing municipalities, including the implementation of the investigation reports indicated during the Portfolio Committee visit.

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