Pretoria - Gauteng Premier David Makhura has issued a stern warning to the DA-governed City of Tshwane as well as the City of Joburg to stabilise their administrations or face his wrath.
He was speaking in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature where he indicated that his government would not hesitate to intervene in running the affairs of the two big metros in Gauteng.
In Tshwane, the City has been hit by the sex scandal involving Executive Mayor Stevens Mokgalapa and Sheila Senkubuge, who has since quit as MMC for Roads and Transport.
Makhura said he was concerned about the state of affairs in the City of Tshwane. “There is administration and governance chaos in the City and all surveys point to the fact that service delivery has taken a deep knock and residents are suffering.
“There is a total mismanagement of the City, which has eroded public confidence,” Makhura said.
The provincial government “would not sit back and watch while people suffered as a result of mismanagement and maladministration”.
Now, he has set his sights on the two municipalities which fall under the control of the DA and its coalition partners.
“I have asked MEC (for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Lebogang) Maile to submit a full report to the executive council on the state of affairs in the City of Tshwane covering finances, service delivery, governance and administration, including the fresh allegations of corruption, as well as matters pertaining to what the situation is regarding the status of the mayor,” Makhura said.
Meanwhile, the City of Joburg has failed to elect a new mayor following the dramatic October resignation of former mayor Herman Mashaba.
Last week, speaker of the City of Joburg council Vasco da Gama postponed a meeting which was due to elect a mayor - a decision which irked Makhura and Maile. As a result, Maile threatened to place the City of Joburg under administration.
Makhura yesterday vowed to intervene within seven days if the City of Joburg fails to elect a mayor by today.
“As the premier, I would like the City of Joburg to move swiftly and elect a new mayor who will set up a new government before December 15.
“I would like to warn that should the City of Joburg fail to elect a mayor on Wednesday (today), within seven days thereafter the provincial government will intervene decisively.
“We will not allow political games on matters that fundamentally affect the lives of millions of Gauteng residents,” Makhura said.
He said it was time for swift and decisive action where there was governance or service delivery failure.
“This is what I promised during the first State of the Province Address of the sixth administration and it shall be done. We mean business,” he said.
During the State of the Province Address on July 1, Makhura said: “Going forward, we are going to be more proactive and interventionist to ensure improved oversight and support to municipalities in the province.
“The cautious approach is not working because things are going wrong in both small and big municipalities and residents are suffering.”
Makhura said that over the first 100 days, the provincial government had moved swiftly to intervene in terms of Section 139 of the Constitution in the West Rand District Municipality because of governance and financial paralysis experienced by the district with a negative impact on service delivery.
“The provincial government has over the past five months, together with national government, strengthened measures to ensure that the Section 139 intervention in Emfuleni is adhered to by all to ensure financial recovery and economic viability of the municipality,” he said.
However, the City of Joburg speaker’s spokesperson, Lillian Kolisang, was adamant that voting for the mayor would go ahead. She said speaker Da Gama had received legal opinion of how to conduct the elections of the mayor today. She also denied allegations that MMCs appointed by Mashaba were still enjoying privileges despite the City of Joburg not having a mayor. “They are no longer in their positions,” she said.