Ditsobotla North West Local Municipality has yet to swear in new councilors and elect a mayor after the first December sitting turned into chaos.
Elections for all 39 council seats were held on December 14 following the dissolution of the broken municipality by Parliament.
In a major blow to the African National Congress (ANC), the ruling party failed to win an outright majority for the first time, managing to reach 39.82%, down from the 51% it received from the 2021 local polls.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EF) won 26% of the vote and captured two wards from the ANC.
At ANC currently has 16 seats, followed by the EFF with 10 and the Democratic Alliance (AND) with six.
The Forum for Service Delivery (F4SD) retained two seats, while the remaining few seats were for smaller parties.
The EFF wants the administrator gone
According to the law, a council must sit in 14 days after the election and swear in the council members who will choose the mayor and the speaker. But the first meeting on December 28, which had been postponed several times before, failed to complete its business the day after. EF councilors opposed administrator Radinaledi Mosiane who presided over the meeting.
The red berets argued that Mosiane’s tenure as administrator officially ended on December 16 and called for his removal.
“During the intervention period, the administrators failed to restore governance, administration and stability in the municipality.
“His failure is evident because the people of Ditsobotla are suffering from poverty, unemployment and lack of services,” the party said after the meeting.
also read: EFF, DA wrested wards from the ANC in the election
MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs and ANC The provincial chairman, Nono Maloyi, also attended the strengthening council meeting.
The EFF labeled Mosiane a “rogue and redundant” administrator who is trying to preside over the premiership even though his time in Ditsobotla has waned.
“MEC Nono Maloyi was at the council meeting and all the abortive attempts to implement the irregular process happened on his watch.
“This is a major proof that the ruling party is tolerant of maladministration,” the party said.
‘small reason’
According to DA caucus leader Yusuf Laher, Mosiane failed to maintain order and the councilors were sworn in that day.
“The arrangements around this inaugural meeting have been chaotic, so it was scheduled for December 22, 2022 at the Ditsobotla Council Chamber, then postponed until December 28, at the SAVF Hall, but a last minute change was made. meeting at the Mokone Hall due to ‘reputational issues with municipality.’
“Obviously, the reputation of Ditsobotla Local Municipality is so damaged that the administration is unable to secure suitable premises.”
He said all parties had agreed that Mosiane should continue to chair the meeting except the EFF.
“The EFF expressed its concern that they did not receive an invitation to this inaugural meeting, that the deployment of the administrator Mosiane was completed and therefore he was unable to conduct business today and the last minute change of venue was inconvenient.
“It was the small EFF’s excuse to justify the disruption in the inaugural meeting that ultimately led to the postponement.
“All elected EFF councilors are present, and if they are true servants of the people, they can put aside their discomfort to complete the opening meeting so that the new council can begin to restore government and service delivery to citizens.”
No date has been set for the next sitting.
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