The IFP has vowed to defend the KwaZulu-Natal government’s decision to place the struggling ANC-led Umkhanyakude District Municipality under administration despite the ANC’s defiance.
In a media briefing on Monday afternoon, President Velenkosini Hlabisa dismissed ANC’s assertion that the provincial government is targeting municipalities under its leadership for political reasons.
There was a drama last week when IFP’s Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi was physically prevented from entering the premises of the municipality, in the north of the province, to formally introduce the appointed administrator, Bamba Ndwandwe.
Hlabisa stated that the government’s decision remains firm and will not be influenced by political pressures.
“This is not a political intervention. This is a Cabinet decision. As long as municipalities are passing unfunded budgets, Section 139 will apply. You can go and check the financial audit outcome of that municipality. It is not good; therefore, it qualifies for an intervention of this kind,” said Hlabisa.
Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli, who was at the briefing, said there was a unanimous decision in the Cabinet with all MECs, including the three from the ANC; therefore, he did not understand why the leadership is challenging it.
He said Umkhanyakude was placed under administration alongside two IFP-led district municipalities, so the assertion by the ANC that it is targeting its municipalities was unfounded.
“We removed an ANC-led Mooi Mpofana Local Municipality from the administration in the same Cabinet meeting, so we do not understand why the ANC is complaining in Umkhanyakude,” said Ntuli.
He also announced that the municipality has taken the government to court for the matter.
In a statement last week, the ANC said it vehemently rejected the unwarranted and politically charged decision by MEC Buthelezi to invoke Section 139(1)(b) of the Constitution in the uMkhanyakude District Municipality.
It said the so-called intervention is nothing short of abuse of constitutional provisions for political gain, adding that it lacks merit, rationale, and integrity.
“The ANC is appalled by the continued misuse of Section 139(1)(b) by the MEC, who has turned what should be a last-resort mechanism into a political weapon, one that is selectively and cynically deployed against ANC-led municipalities, regardless of their performance.
“The uMkhanyakude District Municipality has made tangible progress in governance, financial recovery, and service delivery. There is no objective basis for this draconian step, which appears designed not to improve governance, but to score narrow political points and destabilise a functional administration,” read the statement.
The party said it stands with the Council of uMkhanyakude District Municipality in resisting the opportunistic, mischievous, and dangerous actions of a power-mongering MEC who is hell-bent on destabilising a functional municipality and undermining service delivery to communities.
It vowed to actively mobilise its supporters and communities to resist the advances of an MEC who the party described as having clearly defined himself outside of the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU).
There are fears that the continued souring of relations between these two major partners of the GPU may create instability in the province, which is known for its political complexities.
