uMkhanyakude District challenges intervention

uMkhanyakude District Municipality is challenging the intervention instituted by Cogta MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi.

This after Buthelezi placed the district municipality under administration and announced the appointment of Bamba Ndwandwe as administrator on Monday last week.

Ndwandwe, a seasoned local government veteran, has extensive experience working with various municipalities across the province.

According to Buthelezi, Ndwandwe assumed his duties on 1 July and will serve as the ministerial representative until December.

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Buthelezi also announced the initiation of a forensic investigation into allegations of corruption and maladministration that have been brought to his attention.

This investigation, being conducted in terms of Section 106 of the Municipal Systems Act, aims to thoroughly examine the various allegations.

The intervention will ensure officials are held accountable should any wrongdoing be uncovered by investigators. Buthelezi further urged the municipal leadership to fully co-operate with the administrator and investigators.

“This cooperation is crucial to ensure the challenges facing the municipality receive the urgent attention they deserve,” he said.

‘Fight back’
uMkhanyakude Speaker Solomon Mkhombo claims the intervention has something to do with next year’s local elections.

“He is using his position to say he is providing intervention in the interest of good governance. We know he is a wolf pursuing his political interest.

“We have written two letters to him, praying for him to open an engagement opportunity. We are still waiting for his response, but if he is not willing, we will be left with only one choice: to challenge the matter in court.

“We feel a lot of constitutional rights have been violated, and cannot fold our arms while being bullied.

“He is bringing a Section 106 investigation and we will co-operate with that investigation, provided it does not push any political agenda,” he said.

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Mkhombo said they viewed the MEC’s action as undermining the legitimate authority of elected councillors and the will of the electorate that placed them in office.

“We do not have any reason to cooperate with the administrator; we will continue to work on our own, because as far as we are concerned, all the triggers that were raised before have been resolved.

“The previous intervention lasted almost five years, from February 2021 to 30 April 2025. When the intervention lapsed in April, the MEC misrepresented facts to Council on the basis that the intervention had not lapsed or terminated.

“Council refuted his claim in a letter addressed to him,” said Mkhombo.

He went on to say that they are gravely concerned about the ‘premature, unnecessary and procedurally unfair intervention that disregards the autonomy and constitutional rights of the local government institution’, adding that the current state of governance at uMkhanyakude ‘does not warrant this drastic measure’.

“The intervention should be used as a last resort, only when all other avenues have been exhausted, and only when there is a clear and sustained failure by the council to fulfil its executive obligations. We firmly believe this threshold has not been met in this instance,” he said.

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