Thabazimbi Local Municipality residents are the casualties of ANC faction fights, which are resulting in a serious management and administrative crisis and paralysing service delivery at grass-roots level.
At present, two ANC councillors are laying claim to the mayoral position and two to the position of Chief Whip, while the Council lacks a Speaker after the Labour Party recalled its representative.
Due to this leadership vacuum, two scheduled council meetings could not take place since the end of May.
The chaos is exacerbated by administrative uncertainty. The Municipal Manager, Mr Gopolang Clement Letsoalo, has been suspended, but his suspension has been temporarily set aside by a court order.
Because the matter is still pending and no trial date has been set, there is utter uncertainty about who may lawfully manage the Municipality.
At the time, the Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) voted against Letsoalo’s appointment because he had been suspended from the Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality in North West due to alleged irregularities during his term as Municipal Manager.
Although the Freedom Front Plus brought the current predicament to the attention of the provincial government and the MEC for Cooperative Governance (CoGHSTA), Basikopo Makamu, visited the Municipality, there is still no formal intervention or clear directives.
Council proceedings have reportedly been suspended on the basis of an oral instruction from the MEC, but neither a written notice nor an intervention in terms of section 139 of the Constitution has been tabled to the Council.
This political paralysis has a tangible impact on residents. For example, a road grader has been out of operation for four months simply because its fan belt has not been replaced.
The Freedom Front Plus wants to emphasise that a lawful, functional and effective council is needed to stop this decline; but it is not possible under ANC rule.
On 4 November, residents have the opportunity to vote for the Freedom Front Plus and stop the ANC’s destruction of the Municipality, and restore proper governance and reliable service delivery.
The Freedom Front Plus will keep pressuring the administration and provincial government to resolve this crisis as soon as possible.
FF+ Manifesto on Stronger emphasis on self-determination for minority groups: The FF Plus believes minority groups should have more control over their own affairs.
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