By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
KZN Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi has announced that the eThekwini Municipality has been placed under a Section 154 intervention.
The intervention involves provincial government oversight and assistance to address various issues plaguing the municipality.
Buthelezi said the intervention is to restore eThekwini to its former glory as the “jewel in the crown of KZN”.
Former city manager Dr Mike Sutcliffe and former Presidency director-general Dr Cassius Lubisi have been appointed as governance experts to lead the process.
The two have been appointed under Section 154 of the Constitution, which states that “The national government and provincial governments, by legislative and other measures, must support and strengthen the capacity of municipalities to manage their own affairs, to exercise their powers and to perform their functions”.
The terms of reference range from ensuring that the municipality delivers services to addressing and dealing with acts of malfeasance by ensuring findings of forensic investigations are implemented.
The intervention was first proposed months ago by the then Cogta MEC Bongi Sithole-Moloi when it became clear that the municipality was struggling on many fronts, including the spending of grants.
Buthelezi said no national Cabinet decision can be ignored and Cogta cannot fold its arms while a municipality battles to perform optimally.
The team to lead the intervention has been given 16 terms of reference.
These include conducting an assessment of the key challenges faced by the municipality and developing a turnaround plan on the priorities, ensuring that the municipality is supported in building a clean, effective and responsive government, ensuring that it is supported in implementing findings of investigations and ensuring that it is supported in providing basic services to the people of eThekwini.
Buthelezi said the provincial government’s intervention demonstrated commitment to clean governance and accelerated service delivery, as highlighted by KZN Premier Thami Ntuli.
He said the appointed team will provide monthly reports to the MEC and will be in operation for 12 months, starting from 1 July 2024.