Pandemonium broke out at the offices of Umkhanyakude district municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal on Monday when the council speaker and municipal manager prevented provincial co-operative governance & traditional affairs MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi from entering the council’s offices.
Buthelezi went to Umkhanyakude to announce his decision to place the municipality under administration.
ANC strongman in the Nokuhamba Nyawo region and speaker in the council Solomon Mkhombo was against Buthelezi’s decision.
Buthelezi was forced to hold his meeting in the entrance of the offices as they were closed. He said the decision to place the municipality under administration was prompted by allegations of maladministration and mismanagement of funds.
Buthelezi condemned the officials’ conduct.
“I remain steadfast in my commitment to uphold the highest ethical standards in the governance of KZN municipalities. I was compelled to instruct the officials to break locks that were used in an attempt to prevent me from addressing councillors of Umkhanyakude,” he said.
Buthelezi informed councillors of the provincial executive council’s decision to place the municipality under administration in terms of section 139(1)(b) of the constitution. This section empowers the provincial government to appoint an administrator when a municipality fails to fulfil its duties of providing services to communities.
He announced the appointment of Bamba Ndwandwe as administrator. Ndwandwe is a seasoned veteran in local government, with extensive experience working with various municipalities across the province.
Buthelezi said Ndwandwe’s primary focus would be to stabilise the municipality and develop a comprehensive turnaround plan to address the issues that led to the municipality being placed under administration.
He also announced a forensic investigation into allegations of corruption and maladministration in the council. The intervention would ensure officials were held accountable should any wrongdoing be uncovered, he said.
The MEC called on the leadership of the municipality, who were notably absent during his visit, to fully co-operate with the administrator and the investigators.
Mkhombo said there was no need to place the council under administration. He said that while they were not challenging the powers of the provincial government, the decision was not exercised “with utmost rationality and objectivity”.
TimesLIVE
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