Note to Broadcasters: Please find attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by CJ Steyl
The ANC in North West is playing with fire with its proposal to disestablish the Ditsobotla Local Municipality and incorporate various parts into surrounding municipalities after the 2026 local government elections should the provincial government’s interventions fail.
Once again, the ANC is exhibiting political cowardice in dealing with the structural issues that undermine good governance principles and quality basic service delivery in Ditsobotla, entrenched by various ANC factions over the last three decades.
The Mahikeng, Ramotshere-Moiloa, and Tswaing local municipalities all struggle to deliver quality basic services to residents, suffer financial mismanagement, and struggle with governance issues. All three municipalities have adopted unfunded budgets and obtained qualified or disclaimer audit outcomes over the last five years. If these municipalities struggle to deliver services currently, adding parts of Ditsobotla will collapse them all as well.
Over the last three decades, vying ANC factions have politicised the administration through cadre deployment, establishing a mafia-like state through a deliberate process of municipal capture. Currently, poor governance, fraud, and corruption are being facilitated by a politicised administration that continues to undermine appointed senior management and even elected office bearers. This problem is compounded by ANC factions represented in Council who want to get their fair share of the little money that is left. Out of the 750 municipal employees, more than 500 are directly related to senior municipal officials or politicians.
Ditsobotla suffers a deficit of about R171 million in the current financial year’s budget. It owes Eskom more than R1.2 billion, other creditors debt totals R200 million, while household debt is at R1.4 billion. In short, Ditsobotla has collapsed. But more importantly, how will this adverse financial situation be divided among the three other struggling municipalities, and what would be the impact on their own adverse balance sheets?
Water and electricity infrastructure is dilapidated. Ditsobotla residents go weeks on end without water and/or electricity supply. Municipal roads are pothole-ridden, and refuse hardly gets collected.
Cutting up Ditsobotla and incorporating various parts into these surrounding municipalities will further erode the quality of life of residents because none of the surrounding municipalities would be able to respond to the massive infrastructure backlog. In fact, all it will do is spread the tentacles of the Ditsobotla mafia to other municipalities to continue the looting – like a cancer.
After almost 10 years, the merger of the Ventersdorp and Tlokwe municipalities championed by the ANC to keep the DA out of government in Tlokwe has failed. Both the Ventersdorp and Potchefstroom communities were opposed to the merger, resulting in regular protests since the amalgamation. The demerger of these two municipalities is currently before the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB).
The ANC is testing the waters by punting various falsehoods that disestablishment would be the only option should the current provincial intervention fail. In addition, it now appears that the ANC is blaming all political parties represented in the Ditsobotla Council as being complicit in the chaos the ANC has created.
We categorically reject the ANC’s statement that the DA is complicit in the collapse of Ditsobotla.
It is DA representatives in Ditsobotla that continue to fight on behalf of residents every single day, while the local ANC and its coalition partners preside over a mafia that continues to loot.
We would like to remind the ANC that there is an alternative option that will restore good governance and improve service delivery in Ditsobotla, but it will take political courage.
The DA has requested a national government intervention under Section 139(7) to administer Ditsobotla’s affairs as the first step, coupled with:
- A fully funded financial recovery plan administered by National Treasury;
- An independent financial forensic audit;
- An independent skills audit of all management;
- Lifestyle audits of all elected political office bearers and municipal management;
- Disciplinary action to remove compromised politicians and municipal officials from office and prosecution of all individuals complicit in criminal activity;
- The Asset Forfeiture Unit to recover all losses identified in the forensic audit.
Unlike the ANC, which now defers dealing with its political problems in Ditsobotla through the recall of its delinquent Councillors for 10 to 15 years through this disestablishment proposal, the DA will continue to fight for a tangible intervention in Ditsobotla that will make an immediate difference to residents.