EMFULENI. – The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it welcomes the decision by Parliament’s Select Committee on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Water and Sanitation, and Human Settlements, calling on Gauteng COGTA MEC Lebogang Maile to appear before the committee in a week’s time to account on the status of the intervention at the failing ANC-led Emfuleni Local Municipality.

Maile had appeared before the committee to make a presentation on the progress of the failing municipality during the two years that it has been under placed under administration in terms of Section 139 (1) (b) of the Constitution since June 2018, due to its inability to meet its financial obligations.

During a late night meeting of the Select Committee on Friday night, its Chairperson, China Dodovu told Maile to leave and return with a better picture of the situation at the failed municipality.

“The picture presented was not well received by the Members of Parliament across party lines, especially after Maile’s account was exposed as wholly inadequate by the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), which raised serious and legitimate concerns around the conduct of the Gauteng COGTA Department to date as well as their proposed future actions,” the party said in a statement.

“The Emfuleni Municipality has been plagued by poor service delivery and inept management for years, with service delivery grinding to a halt as raw sewage flows into the Vaal River and communities sit without electricity for 4 to 5 days at a time.

“The finances of the municipality are a shambles and after two years of provincial administration, no material improvements could be reported.

“Maile’s response deflected blame and accountability and he was unable to respond to direct questions.

“As Maile became increasingly defensive, the Chairperson stepped in and suggested that he limit his replies to generalities and revert with detail in a week’s time.

“The DA has repeatedly made calls for a more rigorous process, strongly voicing its dismay in 2018 when an acting Municipal Manager was in turn appointed as Administrator, effectively changing only his title and leaving him to continue as he had before in spite of serious allegations against him,” said the DA in a statement.

The DA in Emfuleni has consistently highlighted the service delivery failures and financial irregularities in the municipality.

The situation became so bad that the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) had to be called in to assist with the unmanaged raw sewage flowing into the Vaal River, and National Government has had to channel additional funding into the area in order to stave off a major environmental and health disaster.

The DA said it would use its opportunity when the MEC returns to appear before the committee to insist on a realistic, effective and workable solution to turn around the Emfuleni Local Municipality to ensure that the residents can enjoy the service delivery that they pay for.