The Imbizo focused national politics on Emfuleni and ELM as a crucial electoral battleground region due to deep-rooted maladministration, lack of service delivery and corruption, leading to a steep and continuing decline as a top industrial, investment, academic and tourist hub in Gauteng.

All eyes are now on the Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Ministry of the National Government which business, civil society and other stakeholders hope and expect will  impose full control over ELM when present partial administration lapses end August.

Gauteng Premier David Makhura ignited the intense speculation during last Friday’s Sharpeville Imbizo after in previous weeks announcing present Section 139 (c) would be lifted end August.

Makhura said the matter must be resolved by the National Government, avoiding an internal power struggle with the ANC-led coalition at ELM after a Gauteng Executive Council decision to lift it.

Organised business and civil society told President Ramaphosa directly that far from relaxing control over ELM, the National Government must impose even harsher and comprehensive controls than before over the delinquent municipality.

The present state of partial administration at ELM was not resourced to the extent it should have been, both for comprehensive powers tfor sustainable change and due to only a small number of experts deployed under Lead Administrator Gilberto Martins.

Martins is credited with stabilising ELM financially and administratively but had no powers to make or change appointments or initiate disciplinary action. Future intervention should thus be from the National Government and strengthen the hand of a Lead Administrator, says business.

Business sources say Martins also decisively influenced organised business and other stakeholders against launching open revolt and civil disobedience against ELM and the Provincial Government. ELM has also lost top officials, with its CFO under suspension and currently only two of seven required Executive Directors in place, thus raising severe capacity issues on service delivery.

Supporters of removing controls from ELM say its new ANC-led coalition political leadership started from a completely clean slate after last year’s municipal elections and deserved to implement the mandate given by voters as improvements were already visible all-round and need consistency.

But the Vaal’s foremost business leaders insist they will resist the removal of administrative controls over ELM and demand even more stringent control from the National Government.

“More control over ELM is needed because they have shown over and over that they cannot be trusted with our taxes or service delivery – we demand from President Ramaphosa that he impose full national Government administration over ELM failing which we will go to court,” said Kevin Jackson, MD of the VBC (Vereeniging Business Cooperation).

Klippies Kritzinger, well-known business activist and township philanthropist, and President of the Golden Triangle Chamber of Commerce (GTCoC) said ELM needed harsh action to ensure it continued on the path to recovery to support the economic rejuvenation of the Vaal Region.