MEC – legally obligated to place Umdoni under administration – fails to act
At the moment, despite its being a legal requirement, no administrator has as yet been appointed, nor has a temporary budget been allocated.
UMDONI Municipality remains in the spotlight following a failure to adopt and pass its annual 2018/19 budget earlier this year.
It seems KwaZulu-Natal Co-operative Governance (Cogta) MEC, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, is yet to intervene and place the municipality under administration, something which the Constitution legally compels her to do.
ALSO READ: DA calls for Umdoni to be placed under administration
Meanwhile, the day-to-day lives of ordinary citizens will be affected while the matter remains unresolved.
During a community meeting at Rocky Bay on Monday evening, feelers were put out to determine whether Umdoni ratepayers would be willing to help fund a legal campaign against the MEC, which, if successful, would force her and her department to place the municipality under administration.
This would force all councillors to vacate their posts while a temporary administrator was appointed to oversee the running of the municipality, with a temporary budget being allocated as well.
Normally, when an annual budget is approved for a municipality such as Umdoni, it is calculated at around R287-million for that year.
These funds include the maintenance of roads and other municipal infrastructure.
At the moment, despite its being a legal requirement, no administrator has as yet been appointed, nor has a temporary budget been allocated, despite the Democratic Alliance having approached the MEC on the matter of having violated the Constitution in terms of Section 139 (4): “If the municipality fails to approve a budget or any revenue raising measures to give effect to the budget, the relevant provincial executive must intervene by taking any appropriate steps to ensure that the budget or those revenue raising measures are approved. This includes the dissolution of the municipal council.”
During Monday evening’s meeting, which was attended by just under 50 people, 27 attendees stated that they would be willing to aid in funding a legal campaign compelling the MEC to intervene.
The cost of such a legal case is estimated at around R250 000 and, according to the councillors chairing the meeting, should they proceed with the legal action, the chances of it being successful are high.
Should the municipality be placed under administration, an administrator will remain in control of the municipality until new councillors have been elected to represent the needs of the community.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
For news straight to your phone, add us on WhatsApp 082 421 6033
