Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
Fani Mahuntsi, Rooster Images
- Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma received a hostile reception on Monday when she visited the local township of Enoch Mgijima in the Eastern Cape.
- The residents of the area have been protesting for months demanding the dissolution of the municipality.
- Dlamini-Zuma’s office has pledged that President Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet will deliberate on the options of whether the local municipality of Enoch Mgijima should be dissolved.
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma angered residents of the local Enoch Mgijima municipality when she refused to immediately commit to disbanding the troubled Eastern Cape municipality during a community meeting on Monday.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet will now have to decide whether a case has been made for the dissolution of the local municipality of Enoch Mgijima.
Dlamini-Zuma received a hostile reception in Komani in the Eastern Cape after residents wrote her office demanding she dissolve the municipality, which many say is dysfunctional.
The minister angered some residents who insisted they would continue to protest because she refused to commit to a disbandment on the spot, News24 was told on Tuesday.
Residents of Enoch Mgijima have been in a prolonged protest, complaining about power cuts, potholes and lack of water. News24 reported how residents blocked the streets last month, demanding that the municipality be dissolved.
Enoch Mgijima Township is one of several municipalities noted by the Auditor General as not operating at full capacity.
The ANC recently announced that it would deploy members of its national executive committee to troubled townships, with Enoch Mgijima high on the priority list.
READ | Enoch Mgijima residents want township dissolved as protest erupts in Komani over blackouts
On Monday, reports surfaced that Dlamini-Zuma had been removed from the area, but her department says this was not true.
Lungi Mtshali, a spokesman for the department, told News24 that the minister was not expelled from the area, but the community was disgruntled when she refused to decide to dissolve the municipality immediately.
Decisions about whether a municipality had met the requirements for dissolution varied depending on government legislation.
Mtshali said the legislation required the government to explore all available options to save a struggling municipality before dissolving it.
The dissolution of a municipality means new elections will be called in the area, a process that could further affect service delivery, Mtshali said.
The government also had the option of placing a municipality under administration and providing it with national resources to help it recover.
A similar process was followed at Mangaung in the Free State in 2022 after a recommendation from Dlamini-Zuma and the Cabinet.
“They wrote her a letter telling her that she should come and that they want her to dissolve the municipality. They didn’t send her a memorandum. The minister said she couldn’t just dissolve the municipality, but wanted to hear the issues. A meeting with stakeholders was arranged on the 6th February,” Mtshali said.
“We have drawn up a report for the Cabinet to consider and decide on the matter. He went to the residents about it and they were not happy because all they wanted to hear was that the municipality would be dissolved.”
READ | Mangaung Township placed under national administration after Cabinet approval
Dlamini-Zuma does not have the powers to dissolve the municipality, and there must be evidence that a council is dysfunctional for the dissolution to be supported, Mtshali added.
“The minister does not have the legal right to decide on the ground that she will dissolve a municipality. You can remember in Tshwane, that happened, and then there was a court case and it was found that processes were not followed.
“Some people are also calling for it not to be dissolved and instead they want the municipality to be supported at the national level, just like we did in Mangaung. We have put a team in Mangaung,” Mtshali said.
Dlamini-Zuma has decided to speed up the process on Enoch Mgijima, and the Cabinet will discuss the matter on February 15 in a meeting, Mtshali confirmed.
The minister’s visit found that the municipality had problems with potholes and problems with tax collection and electricity, which were exacerbated by illegal connections.
