KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Sipho Hlomuka, has urged Mtubatuba councillors to put aside their political differences and focus on service delivery to better the lives of the local community.
He ordered councillors to ensure their municipality delivers on its constitutional mandate to the people.
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Hlomuka convened an urgent full council meeting in Mtubatuba last Thursday to assess the state of the municipality and to engage with councillors on issues relating to service delivery, governance and latest developments that have unfolded within the municipality.
He said Mtubatuba was among the municipalities placed under administration in the province.
The council is plagued by a variety of issues relating to poor governance challenges, including the failure of councillors to attend council meetings.
He said according to reports received by his office, several council meetings have collapsed owing to disagreements among the councillors.
‘This has cascaded to the executive committee meetings, which have collapsed five times since June as a result of disagreements and lack of a quorum.
‘Other oversight committees, such as the audit committee and the municipal public accounts committee, have faced the same problem, which had disastrous consequences for the provision of basic services to residents,’ he said.
Hlomuka appealed to all councillors to work towards resuscitating important oversight structures and to ensure that the council performs its functions as expected.
He urged the municipality to take a firm stance against corrupt officials, who have been implicated in a forensic report for various transgressions, which include fraud and corruption.
He said the report indicates that criminal proceedings and civil recovery processes have been initiated against those implicated.
‘Fifteen employees were implicated in the forensic investigation. Of those, 10 were charged and dismissed, and four are still attending disciplinary hearings, while the 15th died while undergoing disciplinary action.’
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