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The functionality and decisions, or lack thereof, coming out of the Amajuba District Municipality are a cause for serious concern. This is as per the MEC of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (KZN COGTA).
MEC Sihle Zikalala announced that his department is concerned with the developments within the Amajuba District Municipality following the entity continuing to run without a Municipal Manager. While jointly having a Chief Financial Officer in breach of the Municipal Systems Act.
According to the MEC, this follows the failure of the council to extend the Acting Municipal Managers appointment or appoint a new one during the council sitting on 15 November 2022.
“Senior officials from the department have made several attempts to guide the municipality and to get it to correct this breach of the law which threatens its functionality. The District is tasked with the provision of critical services such as water and sanitation to thousands of households. The failure of the Council to appoint an Accounting Officer places at risk the ability of the municipality to provide services to communities” said MEC Zikalala.
This is bearing in mind that the Amajuba District Municipality oversees the Newcastle, Utrecht and Dannhauser municipalities.
Furthermore, the MEC stated that the municipality has also failed to appoint an Acting CFO following the suspension of its current CFO. As a result, he said KZN COGTA was aware of the unlawful and invalid decision taken on 17 November 2022 by the TROIKA (Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Chief Whip) to recall the suspended CFO.
“The department calls upon the councillors within the municipality to act in line with their oath of office by ensuring that the business of the council is conducted in a manner that is above board that will not bring the institution into disrepute,” he stated.
Moreover, MEC Zikalala said that while the department understands that the Amajuba District is governed through a coalition, the stability of the institution should be of utmost importance in the minds of all political parties.
“The department will not hesitate to pursue more stringent measures should the council fail once more to correct its course of action,” he concluded.
With all of this in mind, let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
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