UThukela District Municipality mayor inkosi Ntandoyesizwe Shabalala is under pressure after a court ordered the attachment of the municipality's bank accounts.
Image: Suppplied
The KwaZulu-Natal government and Cogta have intervened in the financially struggling uThukela District Municipality.
The municipality, which is based in Umnambithi, has ‘financially collapsed’ after a service provider attached all the bank accounts following the municipality’s failure to pay him more than R100 million. The municipality is under IFP mayor inkosi Ntandoyesizwe Shabalala.
This caught the attention of both Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa and Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli, who are expected to visit the municipality on Monday to try and find a solution, provincial government spokesperson Bongani Gina said.
Despite the intervention, the DA caucus leader in the municipality Thys Rensburg said that changing the leadership is the only remaining solution to the problems facing the municipality.
“We need to ask ourselves why there is no political will to fix this,” said Rensburg.
In the affidavit deposed by the municipal manager Langelihle Jili, he argued that the order has left the municipality in a serious and urgent financial paralysis as it has been rendered unable to discharge critical essential services and obligations.
“The bank accounts seized constitute the source of the operational liquidity of the municipality. Operational liquidity of a municipality refers to its ability to meet its short-term financial obligations such as salaries, bulk water/electricity, purchases and creditor payments so it is a critical component of financial sustainability,” read the affidavit.
IFP spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa and uThukela mayor inkosi Ntandoyesizwe Shabalala had not responded to questions sent on Thursday.
willem.phungula@inl.co.za