According to the letter that the Potchefstroom Herald has seen, the decision was made by the provincial executive committee during a special sitting on 2 May.

“The department of local government and human settlement has identified areas in the municipality where there is a need to intervene, as there are evident signs of poor administration and governance which negatively affect service delivery,” the letter reads

Kgotso Khumalo, executive mayor of JB Marks, confirmed the letter from the provincial government. Yet according to him council will convene on Thursday to debate the issue. He believes there were some procedural flaws from the department which might lead to council appealing the decision made by the department.

According to Prof. Andrè Duvenhage, political analyst at the NWU, being placed under administration simply means that the province will take over the management of the municipality.

“I am not convinced that this measure will bring about positive change within the municipality. The record of such interventions being successful in the North-West province is not very good. In most cases it is like replacing the captain of a ship that has already sunk. There needs to be a total replacement with expert people in key positions over the whole spectrum of the municipality,” said Duvenhage.