These sentiments, which were expressed by the IPC’s spokesperson, Oupa Khoabane, come as calls for the Mangaung Metro’s Council to be dissolved intensify. 

The clarion call for this dissolution is being championed by the Mangaung Concerned Community (MCC). The group led the shutdown in Bloemfontein, Thaba’ Nchu, Dewetsdorp, Wepener, and Soutpan in May 2021, whereupon a minor was shot and killed in Heidedal. 

Khoabane stresses that dissolving a municipal council is a legal process undertaken by the provincial government and there needs to be reasonable grounds for it to be carried out. MCC leader, Themba Zweni, weighs in on this reasoning by the IPC spokesperson, specifically the part about local elections being on the horizon.

“If you go back you’ll remember that we first made this call in August 2020, to dissolve the municipality. We were way ahead of elections. I can safely say in one of the meetings I attended in 2019, the Cogta MEC said that this council is arrogant. They should have dissolved it then already. Because at the time they had failed to implement their financial recovery plan”.

Meanwhile the MCC has opted for an alternate form of protest against the metro’s council, choosing to boycott paying rates and services to the metro as opposed to organising a shutdown until the council is dissolved. The MCC committee views revenue generated from rates paid, as the source of the council’s “arrogance” and they now wish to cut that lifeline.

The MCC says should the council not be dissolved within 12 days – beginning on 1 July – they will forcibly occupy the municipal and provincial buildings in Bloemfontein. This is because they are of the view that the Free State Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) does have the power to intervene and dissolve the council.

Meanwhile, Cogta head, Mokete Duma, previously told OFM News, that the MCC previously staged a walkout from negotiations. Furthermore, he cautioned that it is not possible to dissolve the Metro owing to different reasons which are beyond the council’s control. Duma says the Metro, since being placed under administration, has seen improvements in its endeavour to address challenges that troubled it before.

“We have demonstrated that it will not be ideal to dissolve the municipality under the circumstances because the financial recovery plan has actually achieved a number of areas and we are in the right direction and if these things are required we will give them. We have given them a list of those things we have achieved through the intervention but in the main, they want the dissolution of the council, they can’t move on that one and if we don’t entertain the dissolution of the council, it’s pointless for them to participate,” he adds.  

OFM News