ATC130910: Report of the Select Committee on Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs on the Intervention in Ditsobotla Local Municipalty – dated 10 September 2013
NCOP Economic and Business Development
REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE
ON CO-OPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AND TRADITIONAL AFFAIRS ON THE INTERVENTION IN DITSOBOTLA
LOCAL MUNICIPALTY DATED 10 SEPTEMBER 2013
1.
Background
and Overview
1.1
The
Select Committee on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs,
having considered the request by the National Council of
Provinces (NCOP), to consider and report on the intervention notice in terms of
section 139(1
)(
b) of the Constitution in
Ditsobotla
Local Municipality, reports as follows:
1.2
In terms of section 139(1)(b) of the
Constitution, when a municipality cannot or does not fulfil an executive
obligation in terms of the Constitution or legislation, the relevant provincial
executive may intervene by taking any appropriate steps to ensure the fulfilment
of that obligation, including assuming responsibility for the relevant
obligation in that municipality.
1.3
In terms of
NCOP rule 101, the Office of the Chairperson of the NCOP referred the notice of
intervention in the affairs of
Ditsobotla
Local
Municipality by the Acting MEC for Local Government and Traditional Affairs to
the
Committee
for consideration and reporting. Subsequently the
Committee
took
a decision during the proceedings of its meeting to conduct an oversight visit
to the above-mentioned Municipality during the 20
th
August 2013.
2.
Purpose
and Objectives of the Oversight Visits
2.1
The main objectives of the oversight
visit were to determine whether procedural requirements have been met
and also to verify whether the Provincial Executive
has used its discretion appropriately before
the Committee can recommend
approval/disapproval of the intervention.
Through the deliberations and interaction with internal and external
stakeholders, the Committee wanted to determine how the Provincial Executive
intends to restore the fulfilment of the relevant obligations and ensure
fulfilment in the long-term. The aim being to ensure intergovernmental checks
and balances aimed at guarding the integrity and efficiency of the intervention
process.
3.
Composition
of the Delegation
3.1
The
delegation of the Committee was composed of the following Members of Parliament
and Officials: Hon MH
Mokgobi
, Limpopo (ANC); Hon AG
Matila
, Gauteng (ANC); Hon LPM
Nzimande, KwaZulu-Natal (ANC); Hon B
Nesi
, Eastern Cape (ANC); Hon TMH
Mofokeng
,
Free State (ANC); Hon MV
Manzini
, Mpumalanga (DA);
Hon J Bekker, Western Cape (DA); Hon
MW Makhubela, Limpopo (COPE); Hon JJ Gunda, Northern Cape (ID); Mr NA
Mfuku
, Content Adviser (Committee Section); Mr MT
Manele
, Committee Secretary (Committee Section); Mr BM
Mahlangeni
, Committee Researcher (Research Unit); Mr MC
Mbebe
, Procedural Officer (NCOP) and Mr N
Mangweni
, Administration Assistant (Committee
Section).
4.
Introduction
4.1
On the 19
th
March 2013, the North West Provincial Executive Council (PEC) resolved to
intervene in the affairs of
Ditsobotla
Local
Municipality, in terms of section 139(1
)(
b) of the
Constitution. This intervention was intended to last for a minimum period of
six months, with effect from the 1
st
April 2013.
4.2
The main
issues that were identified by the PEC in the Municipality were the following:
·
poor
governance and management of Council matters by the
Municipal Council.
·
poor
leadership and oversight by the Council.
·
breach
of code of conduct by Councillors.
·
poor relations
between Council and administration
·
deterioration
of service delivery within
Ditsobotla
.
·
poor
administrative leadership.
·
lack
of administrative capacity within the Municipality.
4.3
The PEC has
then resolved on the basis of the poor state of the Municipality, to appoint an
Administrator and a team of experts to implement the intervention on behalf of
the PEC.
5.
Appointment and Functions of the
Administrator
5.1
Mr MD
Dikoko
has since been appointed as the Administrator for
Ditsobotla
Local Municipality, and was introduced to Council on the 16
th
July
2013. The Administrator and his support team as appointed, was tasked to
stabilise and correct the current situation in the Municipality, particularly
on the following:
·
to
take over the executive obligations of the executive obligations of the
Municipality for the duration of the intervention.
·
to
manage the overall administration of the Municipality, with respect to adopted
protocol and agreed timeframes as reflected in the Intervention Plan.
·
stabilise
and improve governance, administration and service delivery.
·
in
terms of financial management, to improve the financial controls, expenditure
management, procurement processes, revenue enhancement and credit control, as
well as addressing audit queries.
·
investigate
and take corrective action on the procedures followed by Council in the removal
of the Mayor,
Mayco
and the appointment of the
Municipal Manager.
·
facilitate
the improvement of governance within the Municipality with regard to Council
oversight role, functionality of the Council committees and the relationship
between Council and the administration.
6.
Oversight Visit to
Ditsobotla
Local
Municipality
6.1
On the 21
st
August
2013, the delegation of the Committee had interactive and
robust engagements with all stakeholders of
the
Municipality. The main internal
stakeholders the delegation interacted
with in the Municipality included the Speaker,
Executive
Mayor, Chief Whip, Councillors,
Ward
Committee
Members. The main
external stakeholders
the delegation interacted with included members of the
community,
the business forum and non-governmental organizations.
7.
Presentation by the MEC for Local Government and
Traditional Affairs
7.1
The MEC
stated that the problems in the Municipality intensified in mid 2012, when the
post of the Municipal Manager became vacant and there was a need to fill the
position. The contract of the former Municipal Manager expired in March 2012,
following a Council decision to place him on special leave for some months,
prior to the expiry of his contract.
7.2
The Council
then approached the former MEC to second a suitable person to act in the
position, and an official from the Provincial Government was appointed to act
for three months. Following that, the post of the Municipal Manager was then
advertised and the Acting Municipal Manager applied. However, he did not meet
the competency requirements as indicated in the Minimum Competency Regulations.
7.3
The
recruitment process then proceeded without the inclusion of the Acting
Municipal Manager, and this fuelled conflicts and tension within the Council.
This resulted in a decision of Council to remove the Mayor. Another process of
recruitment was then conducted, and the current Municipal Manager was then
appointed. Since then, the conflicts within the Council escalated and this
adversely affected the administration and ultimately service delivery in
Ditsobotla
.
8.
Structure of the Report
8.1
For
the purpose of this report, the submissions made by stakeholders are structured
in terms of Municipal Transformation and Organisational Development; Basic
Service Delivery and Good Governance and Public Participation performance
indicators.
(A).
Municipal Transformation
and Organisational Development
8.2
Administrator:
The Council having
adopted the rules of order, it does not adhere nor respect such rules of order.
Foul language and physical attacks were prevalent in the Council chambers, and
disciplinary measures were not taken against the perpetrators. Equally, the
relationship between the Mayor, Speaker and Municipal Manager was generally not
healthy as it was supposed to be.
8.3
The IDP
,
as a strategic document of the Municipality outlining the strategic intent, was
not aligned to the Organisational Structure, Budget and SDBIP. Further, senior
management reports to Council were not consistent and congruent to the
strategic documents which enabled monitoring and evaluation processes to be cumbersome.
Thus, rendering the functionality of the Municipality
impossible and questionable.
(B).
Basic Service Delivery
8.4
Administrator:
Service delivery has been severely compromised, due to the lack of management
systems, planning, commitment, skilled personnel and monitoring. Water and
electricity losses are not monitored and are unknown. The sustainability of
those serves and materials which are needed to deliver those services are at
risk.
(C).
Good Governance and
Public Participation
8.5
Administrator:
Ward
Committees in all wards have been established, but their
functionality was questionable. The
Municipality has not equipped them with the
necessary
tools of trade, including working space. Items raised by Ward Committees
were not taken into account and processed
accordingly. The offices of the Speaker
and
administration are accountable for immediate response, and ultimately
service
delivery
on these items.
8.6
The Local Labour Forum was not functional. The implementation
of the Bargaining
Council
Collective Agreement was a serious challenge for the Municipality, given the
number of unresolved grievances,
alleged
unprocedural
suspensions and continuous
threats towards the employees.
8.7
SAMWU:
The South
African Municipal Workers Union stated that municipal employees
were in danger of attack, from other
officials in the political and Municipal Managers
Offices. Employees were expected to work under conditions that
are not safe to their
wellbeing,
and the Municipality is failing to address these challenges which negatively
affect their morale.
8.8
Ward Committees:
It
was submitted that reports by Ward Committees are never read
the Municipality.
9.
Committee Observations and Opinion
9.1
It was observed that from the begging of the Council
term of office, there was
division
prevalent in the appointment of the Mayor, Speaker, Executive Committee,
and matters of Council which divided the
house by votes. Different mandates from the
two
factions provincially and regionally exacerbated the situation.
This lead to the
Council
not to concentrate on the tasks at hand, but on power play for control of
Council.
The factions prevailing
in the Municipality has been institutionalised to the
detriment of both service delivery and good governance
practices in
Ditsobotla
.
9.2
The political leadership of
Ditsobotla
should
promote and enhance the institutional
integrity of the Municipality by
ensuring that, p
olitical
management does not
destabilize
and place inappropriate pressure on the Municipal Council and
administration. Further, political office
bearers deployed in
Ditsobotla
should be
well trained, inducted and have the
capacity and integrity to provide leadership in the
best interest of the communities in
Ditsobotla
.
9.3
Staff members were overpaid for their
December 2012 salaries and received double
payments,
and apparently this was done not for the first time. The challenge could be
that the financial system of the
Municipality was not functional or that this was a
deliberate action by the Finance Department officials.
9.4
It was also noted that there was not
adherence by the Municipality to appropriate
systems
and procedures, to ensure fair, efficient, effective and transparent personnel
administration including the
recruitment, selection and appointment of persons as
staff members.
9.5
With regard to unaccounted water and
electricity losses, strategies should be
developed
to implement regular water and electricity audit, and to implement a loss
reduction programme for both services.
Those programmes should address water
demand
management, water losses, electricity losses and demand management that
will ensure that funding of preventive
maintenance and multi-year budgeting is done
on
an ongoing basis.
10.
Recommendations
10.1
The
Select Committee on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs recommends
as follows
:
10.1.1
The NCOP
approves the intervention in terms of section 139 (1
)(
b)
of the
Constitution in
Ditsobotla
Local Municipality for a period of six months,
after the
adoption of this report.
10.1.2
The Administrator should investigate and take corrective steps to recover
the double payments that were irregularly made to officials and councillors of
Ditsobotla
Local Municipality, as a matter of urgency. A
report in this regard should be tabled to the NCOP within three months, after
the adoption of this report.
10.1.3
With regard to unaccounted water
and electricity losses, the Administrator should develop strategies to
implement regular water and electricity audit and to implement a loss reduction
programme for both services in the Municipality.
10.1.4
The
political leadership of
Ditsobotla
should
promote and
enhance the institutional integrity of the Municipality by ensuring that, p
olitical management does not
destabilize and place inappropriate pressure on the Municipal Council and
administration.
10.1.5
The
South African Local Government Association in co-operation with the Local
Government Sector Education and Training
Authority,
should facilitate the
training and capacity building for Municipal Councillors; to
further deepen their
understanding
of the oversight role; legal framework and policies that govern
the activities of the Municipality.
10.1.6
The
North West MEC for Local Government and Traditional Affairs should
table quarterly progress reports to
the NCOP and the Provincial Legislature on
the
status of the intervention in the Municipality, including the challenges
encountered.
Report to be considered.
Documents
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