By: Buhle Mbhele
Gagasi FM News has reliably learnt that KZN Treasury has decided to withdraw its services and support from Umkhanyakude District Municipality, citing a lack of commitment.
MEC Francois Rodgers says following several attempts to engage the municipality on issues affecting them, he has decided to write to Mayor Siphile Mdaka that he will be reassigning provincial government resources.
The embattled Umkhanyakude District Municipality has been in the headlines more than a pop star after releasing an album because of the never-ending problems facing the district.
Reports of protests due to service delivery issues as well as internal battles among councillors have made rounds in the news.
But what sealed the deal for the government to take action was the auditor general’s report on the municipality, which found irregular expenditure of over R4 billion rand for the 2022/23 financial year.
The ANC-led municipality has been at the top of the municipalities the AG has raised concern about over the years and continues to fail to improve.
Last week, the IFP’s COGTA MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi was blocked by water tankers from entering the municipal offices when he arrived to introduce the newly appointed administrator, Bamba Ndwandwe.
This is after invoking section 139 on the municipality, which has caused a rift between the IFP and the ANC in the KZN Legislature.
During a press briefing at the beginning of this week, IFP KZN Chairperson Thami Ntuli told us journalists that the ANC, which is crying victim publicly, supported the decision to place Umkhanyakude under administration in the legislature.
“As you remember, that in the cabinet; we have ANC MECs, we have DA, we have NFP, and we have the IFP. So unanimously, we agreed that there was a need to have Section 139 intervention in UMkhanyakude. That is why, then, we have various supports and interventions, and there are even Section 106 investigations wherein we are saying, When we received information about wrongdoings, we cannot sit back as government and live as if nothing has been brought to our attention.”
-Thami Ntuli.
Now the DA’s Rodger, leading KZN Treasury, says his office has wasted money on trying to help Umkhanyakude.
Here’s his spokesperson, Nkosikhona Duma.
The difficult decision to withdraw support services to the uMkhanyakude district municipality was taken in a bid to conserve provincial government resources and apply them where it is possible to work freely in the spirit of building a capable and ethical state. On various occasions, KZN Treasury teams have travelled to uMkhanyakude the day before to ensure a fully productive day with municipal officials; unfortunately, the teams have often found themselves subjected to late cancellations by municipal officials, either in the evenings of planned sessions or in the mornings.
-Nkosikhona Duma
This has resulted in fruitless and wasteful expenditure being incurred by the KZN provincial treasury.
As it stands municipal workers union SAMWU rejects the section 139 intervention while the salaries of their members hang on the line.
This is a developing story.
