{"id":811689,"date":"2025-02-19T10:20:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T08:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=811689"},"modified":"2025-02-19T10:21:22","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T08:21:22","slug":"big-change-at-a-prominent-south-african-municipality-on-the-cards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/811689\/big-change-at-a-prominent-south-african-municipality-on-the-cards\/","title":{"rendered":"Big change at a prominent South African municipality on the cards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The African National Congress (ANC) in the North West are mulling merging the troubled Ditsobotla Local Municipality (DLM) with those surrounding it after the 2026 local government elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The party said this would happen if the provincial government\u2019s interventions continue to fail to address the challenges in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have implemented all the interventions that you can think of,” said ANC North West spokesperson Tumelo Maruping, whose party has an outright majority in the province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If the interventions do not work out, post-2026, we are now looking at getting rid of that municipality altogether and merging it with other municipalities,” said Maruping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said this is because “we would have exhausted all the avenues available to them in terms of the constitution.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ditsobotla, which includes towns like Lichtenburg, Coligny, and Ga-Raphalane, is home to over 200,000 people and is an important agricultural region with key manufacturing, wholesale, and retail sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has faced a decade of deteriorating essential services, political instability, corruption, and financial mismanagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ditsobotla’s budget deficit is about R171 million in the current financial year. It owes Eskom more than R1.2 billion, other creditors’ debt totals R200 million, and household debt is R1.4 billion.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BusinessTech recently visited Ditsobotla<\/strong><\/a>, where residents and business leaders reported worsening conditions that had become “unbearable” due to failures in water, electricity, sanitation, by-law enforcement, and road upkeep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having disclaimed audits for over a decade, the municipality has repeatedly been placed under mandatory intervention due to its inability to provide basic services or meet financial obligations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The municipal council was dissolved over two years ago and reconstituted in early 2023 after the December 2022 by-elections, in which the ANC lost its majority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite several provincial government interventions, not much has improved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We have received a well-researched document in terms of the process or alternatives we can implement in Ditsobotla,” said Maruping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The only thing that we are left with, which we are still considering, is the entire dissolution of Ditsobotla not as a municipality but in terms of demarcation.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is “so that we get rid of that type of municipality because it\u2019s not working for us. It\u2019s not working for our people,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, he emphasised that it is not a final decision. If it does take fruition, the process to dissolve Ditsobotla may start in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 6 February 2025, North West Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Gaoage Molapisi said in a press briefing the environment in Ditsobotla has not been conducive for intervention teams to operate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that the municipality lacks professionalism and accountability, a spirit of entitlement, and concerted efforts to maintain the status quo and stop any effort to bring change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe intervention team has witnessed and experienced the prevalence of organised crime in the form of being held hostage and kidnapped, which makes it impossible to operate,\u201d said Molapisi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have played a major role in assisting the municipality to stabilise, however, there is still a lot of work to be done to return the municipality to normality,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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North West Cogta MEC Gaoage Molapisi.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Opposition parties and civil society organisations reject proposition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The two largest opposition parties in the province, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Democratic Alliance (DA), have rejected this proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe feel strongly that won\u2019t be a tangible solution, actually it\u2019s going to create more problems even to other municipalities that will now inherit Ditsobotla,” said Fanon Moema, EFF provincial spokesperson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It becomes a problem to now transfer a problem to other municipalities that are not in good standing themselves,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DA North West Cogta spokesperson Chris Steyl said, “Cutting up Ditsobotla and incorporating various parts into these surrounding municipalities will further erode the quality of life of residents.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said this is “because none of the surrounding municipalities would be able to respond to the massive infrastructure backlog.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“All it will do is spread the tentacles of the Ditsobotla mafia to other municipalities to continue the looting,” he alleged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naude Pienaar from the Ditsobotla Services Association (DSA) said such a proposition “would never work.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The solution for Ditsobotla must come from Ditsobotla. Merging them into other failing municipalities is not going to solve the problem,” said Pienaar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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National intervention<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Ditsobotla Services Association, alongside business interest group Sakeliga, are litigating against Ditsobotla Municipality, securing court rulings for urgent water and electricity supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group has pushed for the municipality to be placed under Section 139(5) provincial administration. It is gathering evidence for a potential Section 139(7) national administration, aiming to involve the National Treasury for similar outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“National Treasury needs to work with us in Ditsobotla,” said Pienaar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DA in the province has requested a national government intervention under Section 139(7) to administer Ditsobotla\u2019s affairs, coupled with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • A fully funded financial recovery plan administered by National Treasury;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • An independent financial forensic audit;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • An independent skills audit of all management;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Lifestyle audits of all elected political office bearers and municipal management;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Disciplinary action to remove compromised politicians and municipal officials from office and prosecution of all individuals complicit in criminal activity;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The Asset Forfeiture Unit to recover all losses identified in the forensic audit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Meanwhile, the National Treasury confirmed with BusinessTech that it is not considering a Section 139(7) national intervention for Ditsobotla at this time, citing the ongoing provincial intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A Financial Recovery Plan (FRP) was approved in August 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cIt is therefore premature at this point to invoke a S139(7) intervention as the province has demonstrated that it is addressing the problem in the Ditsobotla local municipality,\u201d said Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At this point, the national government said that it allows the provincial executive \u201ctime and space\u201d to oversee the provincial mandatory intervention invoked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cThe national executive will consider the invocation of section 139(7) intervention only if the jurisdictional facts for a national intervention have been met,\u201d said Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    BusinessTech interviews during the January 2025 Ditsobotla trip<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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