ELECTION OF THE NEW EXECUTIVE MAYOR AND THE APPOINTMENT OF THE MEMBERS OF THE MAYORAL COMMITTEE
The Govan Mbeki Municipality has a new Executive Mayor Honourable Cllr Nhlakanipho Zuma who was elected on the occasion of the Ordinary Council meeting that took place on 26 November 2020.
This development came as a result of the resignation of the former Executive Mayor Cllr YT Ngxonono. Subsequently, with the powers vested in the Executive Mayor, the newly elected Executive Mayor then appointed Members of the Mayoral Committee (MMCs) as follows:
1. MMC For Finance: Cllr Sakhile Mahlangu
2. MMC for Technical Services responsible for Energy: Cllr Dan Nhlapho
3. MMC for Water and Sanitation: Cllr Betty Ndaba
4. MMC for Corporate Services: Cllr Thandiwe Zulu
5. MMC for Planning and Development: Cllr Thandi Ngxonono
6. MMC for Community Services: Cllr Antony Makhaye
7. MMC for Special Projects: Cllr Nomkhosi Zulu
The election of the new mayor and the executive committee was not without its share of controversy.
The opposition parties was of the opinion that the timing for the election of the Mayor and MMC’s was not thought through. The municipality is currently under administration in accordance to Section 139(1)(b) of the constitution. This would mean that a Mayor would not be necessary and a waste of time, taking into consideration the financial state of the municipality.
The Bulletin received the following statement from Cllr Ciska Jordaan, Caucus leader of the Democratic alliance in GMM:
The DA is severely concerned with the recent election of an Executive Mayor, who has also appointed a mayoral committee while the municipality awaits for the appointment of an administrator by the provincial CoGTA as stipulated by section 139 (b) of the constitution, which would make having an Executive Mayor and a Mayoral committee under the current circumstances, redundant and irrelevant.
The MEC for Cogta had categorically stated on video to the public, and I quote, “there’s collapse in governance, there is collapse in financial management, there’s collapse in service delivery” and that there is no need for an executive authority since the province has taken over the powers for the next 6 months.
Also read: GMM struggles with water supply amidst water restrictions
As the DA, we concur with this view and are of the opinion that appointing an Executive Mayor and a Mayoral Committee would only result in wasteful expenditure to pay out huge salaries and further political interference. The Democratic Alliance had therefore walked out of the council meeting on Thursday the 26th November as we refuse to participate in the continuous willful destruction of the Govan Mbeki municipality, and in the effort to work with other opposition parties to leave the council without a quorum.
All indications are that either the alleged intervention undertaken by the provincial legislature into the decrepit state of affairs of the Govan Mbeki Municipality is a ruse designed to calm the public, or the ANC in Govan Mbeki is suffering from a psychological difficulty which can only be described as delusions of grandeur in its search for more money to loot and a way to cover up pertinent aspects of ongoing investigations – when there is none, and reward all those same individuals who are implicated in the section 106 report with promotions.
The opposition also vehemently objected to the inclusion of Cllr Tandi Nxgonono in the Mayoral committee. Thandi resigned from her position as mayor in September after being implicated in the Section 106 report. This report was the findings of an investigation sanctioned by the MEC for COGTA.
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