DA prepares to fight City of Tshwane administration decision

Gauteng Premier David Makhura’s decision to place the City of Tshwane under administration is an assault on democracy, DA interim leader John Steenhuisen says.

Makhura and Gauteng Cogta MEC Lebogang Maile held a media briefing earlier on Thursday invoking Section 139(1)(c) of the Constitution.

It meant the City would be dissolved and placed under administration, and by-elections would take place within 90 days of the appointment of administrators.

Steenhuisen alleges this is an ANC attempt to grab power through the back door.

He said Makhura and the ANC were attempting to achieve what they were unable to do during the last election.

“It’s not only ill-founded in law but there is no substance to the allegations for the reasons why he is putting Tshwane under administration. This is an assault on democracy. It’s an unwarranted intrusion by one sphere of government controlled by the ANC into another sphere controlled by ‘the opposition,” he said.

The DA said it would resist the decision by formulating a legal response, calling the move another form of state capture.

“We will be resisting and formulating a legal response to the unwarranted, undemocratic attack and assault on the democratic decision made on the people of Tshwane,” he said.

Makhura gave six reasons for the executive council’s decision:

• a flagrant disregard for them Municipal Finance Management Act regarding procurement processes which eroded good governance
• unauthorised, fruitless and wasteful expenditure flagged by the auditor-general
• a failure to spend conditional grants
• the irregular appointment of senior managers
• a failure to elect ward committees
• and a failure to collect refuse as well as severely compromised drinking water.

Makhura said these issues were raised with the municipality which failed to act on Maile’s directives. He said the situation in Tshwane constituted exceptional circumstances which warranted the dissolution of the council. He added that national Cogta Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma would be informed of the decision on Thursday.

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