MBOMBELA – The proposed amalgamation of the Mbombela Local Municipality and the Umjindi Local Municipality has received mixed reaction from both council and concerned community members this past week.
This after the provincial executive council had previously announced on
February 11 that there was a need to reconfigure municipalities since some were not financially sustainable on their own.
During the special council meeting on Thursday, February 26, a number of concerns were raised by the Democratic Alliance with regard to this proposed amalgamation.
Chief whip for the DA in Mbombela, Mr Werner le Grange, mentioned that this merger’s pros and cons needed to be discussed at length before any decisions could be taken.
In contrast Mr Bheki Zulu, MMC for local economic development, tourism and trade, replied that this merger would be inheriting a culture of payment as well as give the municipality an economic boost.
“The payment rate in Umjindi is around 95 per cent and this will be automatically transferred to Mbombela. Umjindi also has active gold mines that can be used to expand the economy,” he stated.
It was also mentioned that many people currently living in Umjindi worked in Mbombela and were already paying taxes in the city.
According to DA caucus leader
Mr Jo Koster, the voice of the people in the community were being restricted as decisions were being taken without thinking about the broader and long-term implications thereof.
“One of the worrying factors are that legal processes need to be followed and then gazetted into reports. There is no need to hurry into a situation.”
Le Grange also agreed that this merger must not be rushed into and that proper planning had to be done to ensure its economic viability.
“When has the gold mines been economically viable over the last view years?” he asked the council.
According to Mr Joseph Ngala, spokesman for MLM, the primary decision to merge was taken by the minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta), Mr Pravin Gordhan, and is in line with Mbombela’s goal of becoming a metro. “It is not just Mbombela that is affected, there are 10 municipalities in the province that are affected by this. The main objective is to make the municipalities financially viable, functioning as one big municipality. A second positive is that we as MLM are already aspiring to become a metro and the proposed amalgamation will assist us towards achieving that goal,” he explained.
Ngala also retorted that the public participation process had so far revealed that more people were supporting the amalgamation than opposing it.
“The amalgamation is going to affect both communities positively in that the new municipality will be able to fulfil its constitutional mandate and obligation to render services,” he added.
According to Ngala, the minister will announce the new amalgamated municipalities in July 2015. The Municipal Demarcation Board still had to receive reports from the affected municipalities before that decision would be made.
An esteemed Lowvelder and former president of the Barberton Chamber of Business, Mr Ned Sturgeon, has also voiced his opinion on this matter.
“An amalgamation would not be necessary if suitable changes were introduced. The reason Umjindi Muncipality is now regarded as non-viable is attributable primarily to mismanagement at mayoral level.” According to Sturgeon, the municipality should be managed as a viable tourism hub.
“The work on proclaiming a world heritage site in the mountains above the town (Genesis of Life) needs active support which does not appear to be forthcoming from the province or local municipality. Barberton and its surroundings offer a stunningly beautiful undeveloped area of untapped tourism potential,” he stated in a letter to the newspaper.
• On Monday evening residents of Emjindini in the Umjindi Municipality blockaded roads and burned tyres in protest of this merger. A petition has since been drafted and submitted to the Municipal Demarcation Board and the municipal manager of Umjindi, Mr Pat Msibi.
