Ditsobotla officials blocking Cogta efforts to fix crumbling municipality

The North West Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) is fighting an uphill battle in the Ditsobotla Local Municipality.

For the eighth time since 2008, a provincial intervention was sent to address service delivery failings in Ditsobotla, which covers the former agricultural hub of Lichtenburg.

After 14 months of work, Cogta officials gave an update on Thursday outlining the challenges they have faced in the municipality.

Lack of professionalism

The intervention team consisted of Cogta members, provincial executives, treasury and municipal infrastructure support agents.

Water shortages, prolonged electricity outages, crime and deteriorating infrastructure have led to several protests in Lichtenburg.

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To address the electricity issue, Cogta has suggested assigning the responsibility of managing supply and maintenance directly to Eskom, as the municipality is financially and logistically incapable of servicing residents.  

North West Cogta MEC Gaoage Molapisi stated that an environment existed within the municipality that made it difficult to implement changes.  

The MEC cited a lack of professionalism and accountability, a spirit of entitlement, and concerted efforts to maintain the status quo and stop any effort to bring change.

“The 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,” stated MEC Molapisi.

“[We] 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,” the MEC added.

Eight municipalities under administration

Cogta has been working across the North West to improve municipal management, as eight of the 22 are undergoing provincial interventions.  

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From the 2023/24 annual reports of the province’s local and district municipalities, 12 received qualified audits, two received adverse audits and three received disclaimer audits — meaning not enough information was presented to complete the audit with any accuracy.  

Cogta’s recovery plan includes a skills audit, which has begun to scratch the surface of the problem.

“[The skills audit] revealed that in some municipalities, employees in lower-level positions are overqualified while managers in some municipalities do not possess the necessary qualifications and competencies relevant to their positions,” said Molapisi.

Cogta’s remedy is to force municipalities to develop targeted education and training programs and recruitment strategies.

Municipal debt relief received

MEC Molapisi explained that implementing reform was governed by section 41 of the Constitution, which instructs all spheres of government not to encroach on one another.

He said all spheres were distinctive, interdependent, and interrelated, but said section 154 of the Constitution mandated the strengthening of municipalities’ capacity to perform their function.

“Sometimes, as either provincial or national government, we cannot impose some of the decisions on councils,” Molapisi explained.

As a result, 10 municipalities in the North West were assisted by Cogta in accessing municipal debt relief, of which six have spent over 60% of the funds allocated to them.

The Municipal Infrastructure Grant expenditure as of the end of December 2024 was at 41% of the total allocation of R2.1 billion,” said the MEC.

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