SEDIBENG.- There is a new Sheriff in town, and opposition parties are fuming after the Gauteng MEC of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Lebogang Maile, appointed Willy Bhila as the new Administrator at the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) last week.
Bhila replaces Oupa Nkoane who has been acting in the position. Nkoane was the Municipal Manager (MM) before being appointed to the Acting Administrator position. Maile said that Nkoane’s term ended with the appointment of the new ELM Municipal Manager (MM), Lucky Leaseane, in February.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has said that it is deeply concerned about the new Administrators’ ‘deployment’, particularly as he would be managing the public purse towards the 2021 local government elections.
“The DA adamantly rejects Maile’s vague directive on deploying another cadre to administer the failing Emfuleni Municipality, as it incapacitates the opposition to hold the ANC to account. We cannot sit and watch as Maile deploys one compromised administrator after the other as part of his personal vanity project, at the expense of taxpayers,” said, Tebogo Tlhokwe DA Caucus Leader in the ELM, adding that there is nothing that Bhila can do to save ‘the sinking ship other than further looting its resources’.
In 2018 Gauteng Premier David Makhura placed the ELM under administration, saying the municipality cannot fulfil its executive obligations. Makhura said, then, that the ELM was facing major economic, financial and service delivery problems and needed intervention. Last week, in a strong worded letter to the ELM Executive Mayor, Gift Moerane which was seen by Vaalweekblad, Maile said that the intervention had not produced required desired outcomes and that the ELM was continuing to experience challenges that require a stronger, firmer hand in order to turn things around.
He further said that critical challenges continue to plague the ELM.
Amongst those challenges Maile mentioned the crucial senior positions that remain vacant at the municipality, poor revenue collection, backlog and collapse of waste management services, non-payment of service providers, serious allegations of corruption, and a myriad of court cases with large power users.
African Transformation Movement (ATM) Regional Chairperson, Veli Mcira, said thatMaile is playing delaying political tactics instead of taking a proper decision that would yield positive results at the ELM.
“It doesn’t make sense to keep the Executive Mayor and Council if all their powers have been taken over by the Administrator.
“This exercise simply means the public purse is going to be wasted on a team that is proven to have failed but is kept on the payroll. Why? How is the Administrator going to deal with corruption cases alluded to by the MEC if the same people implicated are kept in the same environment (and) paid for doing nothing?”
Mcira requested Maile to review his decision and dissolve the ELM.
The Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) Regional Chairperson, Isaac Khithika, said that his party rejects the ‘chop and change’ style of leadership that is taking place at the ELM and that having unemployment, maladministration, dilapidated sewerage and electricity systems as its core challenges, the ELM should have identified credible leaders to address these challenges instead.
“We also believe that the latest appointment technically dissolves Council as the Executive and the Mayor’s power now rests with the new Administrator.
“We therefore call on the Mayor and the MMC’s to earn similar salaries to Councillors because they will not be performing their roles as executives.”
Maile said that the duration of the term of the new Administrator is subject to progress made in turning around the situation at ELM, but should ideally not exceed 12 months.
The new Administrators’ term of references includes amongst others, the implementation of financial systems, policies and procedures, approval of decisions by MM, Implementation of a system to control and approve all expenditure, review and finalization of court cases of, and against the municipality.
He will in addition undertake all executive functions of the ELM Council and the statutory functions of ELM Executive Mayor, Gift Moerane.
* In a single term, the ELM has had three mayors (Simon Mofokeng, Jacob Khawe and Gift Moerane) and two Administrators (Nkoane and Bhila).
