The sudden and unexpected proposal by Minister Pravin Gordhan that the councils in the West Rand should be amalgamated into a single metropolitan municipality calls into question the motive of the ruling party in making this proposal.
It is suggested that the ANC wishes to collapse the existing councils to hide and mask the dysfunctionality and corruption that exists in these entities – with good reason.
In November last year, Mogale City ward councillor Walter Plaatje was found guilty of fraud and corruption and sentenced to a five-year prison term with an option to pay a fine of R20 000. Plaatje paid the fine and today still serves as a public representative.
Surely one would expect that either the Council Speaker or his party’s leadership has a moral obligation to ensure that our people are represented by individuals of integrity and not by convicted criminals.
To date no action has been taken, and written DA questions to council over his continued service as councillor have mysteriously gone missing.
Add to this the allegations of corruption in the Merafong and the Westonaria municipalities, which have been the subject of forensic audits.
The MEC for Local Government in Gauteng refuses to make the reports public, and the DA now has lodged an application in terms of the Public Access to Information Act (PAIA) to have them released.
It is alleged that millions of rand have been siphoned off by crooked officials in these two municipalities.
Just this week it emerged that the Randfontein local municipality employed 17 individuals without any having submitted a CV. These irregular appointments amount to millions lost to salaries.
Minister Gordhan’s proposal to have these four very dysfunctional municipalities merged into a single administration will create a monster that will be impossible to control.
As a result of the large geographical area, it is highly unlikely that management at the centre will be able to control dynamics on the outskirts – opening the doors for increased corruption.
The ultimate result will be reduced levels of service delivery at hugely inflated costs.
It is for this reason that residents of the West Rand should oppose vehemently the creation of a metropolitan municipality.
