This comes as the provincial department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs reveals the Madibeng, Lekwa Teemane, Mamusa, and Naledi local municipalities will have administrators and intervention teams strengthened through the deployment of experts in various fields. Amongst those eagerly watching this development, is the Ditsobotla Municipal Council, which last week declared a dispute with the provincial government over the implementation of the intervention.

Ditsobotla, which was placed under provincial care in September 2018, wants the current administrator withdrawn over non-performance. Municipal spokesperson, Pius Batsile, says the situation at the municipality is not improving at all, even with intervention in place. Batsile says on July 1 the council had to step in to arrange a payment agreement with Eskom over the municipality’s more than R430 million bill just to keep the lights on in the area. He says the provincial government has failed to do anything about this mounting bill. Then Premier, Job Mokgoro, accused the council of deliberately ignoring intervention, even barring the administrator from entering the municipal offices.

On July 4, a meeting with the provincial government which was meant to ascertain what the current challenges in Ditsobotla are, became chaotic as councillors wanted Mokgoro to explain statements made to the media that they were not complying with intervention efforts. The meeting went nowhere and was concluded. The DA in the province vows to keep a watchful eye over newly appointed Madibeng administrator Johnny Motlogelwa’s intervention efforts at the municipality. There is no reference to the situation in Ditsobotla, which appears to be worsening.

OFM News