Staff Reporter
Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality which includes the Free State provincial capital, Bloemfontein, has been placed under national administration following cabinet approval.
A statement issued by cabinet on Thursday said the intervention is in terms of Section 139(7) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996, read together with Section 150 of the Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (Act 56 of 2003).
Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape has also been placed under national administration.
Both municipalities, according to cabinet, have been experiencing significant financial and service delivery failures for a prolonged period.
The Free State provincial executive initially placed Mangaung under mandatory intervention in terms of Section 139(5) (a) and (c) of the Constitution in December 2019.
A mandatory financial recovery plan was subsequently imposed on the municipality in 2020.
“After failing for more than two years to implement the financial recovery plan during the provincial intervention, the metro has now been placed under a national intervention in terms of Section 139(7) of the Constitution,” read part of the cabinet statement.
The invocation of the national intervention means the national government will now act in the stead of the provincial executive.
“This type of intervention is mandatory and follows the same procedure as Section 139(5) of the Constitution, except that national government will now directly assume responsibility for these interventions,” added the cabinet statement.
National cabinet representatives (NCR) will shortly be deployed to both municipalities.
The Minister of Finance will delegate powers to the NCR and will also be supported by a multidisciplinary team of experts.
No decision has yet been taken to dissolve the municipal council in terms of Section 139(5)(b) of the Constitution.
The national intervention will take effect upon formal gazetting in the Government Gazette.
However, the current Section 139(5) intervention will remain in effect until this date.
The cabinet decision comes as the city was slowly coming to life with preparations for the District Development Model (DDM) Presidential Imbizo set for this coming weekend at the Petrus Molemela Sports Complex in Mangaung.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will lead the imbizo which will be convened under the theme “Leave no one behind”.
The event will assess the level of service delivery in the province, track progress on the DDM and oversee key interventions and plans.
Cabinet described the DDM Presidential Imbizo as an important public participation platform which gives citizens a voice and the president the opportunity to listen to the people and respond to their concerns.
South Africans can follow and participate in discussions on social media under the hashtag #PresidentialImbizo.
