The committee was initially scheduled to pay visits to the aforementioned municipalities on Wednesday, but in a statement say time constraints prevented them from doing so. Both municipalities have been rocked by allegations of corruption and maladministration of late.

The JB Marks Local Municipality

The North West Provincial Executive decided to place the JB Marks Local Municipality, which includes Potchefstroom and Ventersdorp, under administration in May. The decision was later rejected by the municipal council, placing the provincial government in a predicament.

In late June, residents said to be fed up about the slow pace of service delivery again embarked on protest action in the area, hijacking an excavator in the process, digging tarred roads in the Ikageng township outside Potchefstroom. Potchefstroom, which previously fell under Tlokwe Local Municipality, is reported to have been thriving until it was amalgamated with the struggling Ventersdorp municipality to form JB Marks in 2017. This decision was greatly criticised by opposition parties, who saw the move as nothing more than a ploy by the ANC-led government to strengthen their control of the area.

The Madibeng Local Municipality

The financially strained Madibeng Local Municipality, on the other hand, came to national prominence in the midst of the VBS Bank debacle, as it was revealed the municipality invested R30 million with VBS Mutual, a move that council had allegedly not taken a resolution on. Mayor Jostina Mothibe was later suspended, after pleading ignorance to the investment, stating that she only became aware of this investment when the funds needed to be utilised for service delivery.

It has been reported the struggling municipality was ordered in June 2019 to pay R45 million to the Department of Water and Sanitation for services rendered.

The Committee will kick off their visit to JB Mark’s municipal offices in Potchefstroom at 09:00 on Thursday morning, moving on to Madibeng’s municipal offices in Brits in the afternoon.

OFM News