In 2013 the DA called for Makana Municipality to be placed under section 139 1(b) administration. The DA repeatedly challenged the MEC in Bisho, the Minister in Parliament and the Mayor in Council.
In 2013 the DA called for Makana Municipality to be placed under section 139 1(b) administration. The DA repeatedly challenged the MEC in Bisho, the Minister in Parliament and the Mayor in Council.
We put solutions on the table, called for a no confidence vote in the Mayor and ensured that Makana was never off the agenda of every level of government and the media. Each time testing the resolve of the ANC to act.
They failed while some ANC members have subsequently endorsed the DA's efforts behind the scenes. Again in August this year we called for Makana to be placed under administration, with civil society now lending its voice to the appeal.
On September 10th MEC Fikile Xasa pronounced that Makana had been placed under administration and a full three weeks of uncertainty later he announced the new administrator. Why wait three weeks? In fact, why wait a whole year to place a blatantly failing municipality under administration? The ANC was more than likely finding the correct timing in the election cycle.
We will challenge the MEC on these delays and his curious avoidance of the National Council of Provinces, where he is required by law to table Makana's administration. Is Section 139 1 (b) administration a silver bullet to solve all the problems of Makana Municipality?
No! At best it will restore some stability to the administration, expose corrupt officials and charge them. At worst the political thugs that have held the administration captive will chase the administrator away the same way Dr Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela was chased out of Nelson Mandela Bay.
The DA will continue our fight to ensure that it is the former. I personally submitted an application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act to have the Kabuso Forensic Report made public so that I can lay charges against those found to be implicated in corruption.
This report must not be swept under the carpet by the ANC.
If the administrator is serious about action and a quick turn around she must make this report public immediately. I have read with much interest about civil society rallying together to stand up against the devastatingly deficient governance and service delivery in the municipality.
This is great news. I believe a strong civil society is a critical component of a constructive participatory democracy and we welcome the critical voices that have come to the fore. However, it is at the polls that Makana's fate is sealed and this is where the real change needs to happen.
In 2011, 72% of Makana's voters supported the ANC. This is an overwhelming majority and more importantly it is an endorsement of a particular style of governance.
So goes the saying, "you get the government you deserve". The rapid decline in infrastructure maintenance, basic service delivery and municipal finances between the 2011 and 2014 elections may have given some hope that a strong message of disapproval would be sent to the ANC at the polls.
Not quite. Earlier this year the ANC was endorsed yet again, this time with 68% of the vote.
This decline in support is sadly incommensurate with the decline in delivery and points to voter satisfaction of the status quo. Some may even say that Stockholm Syndrome is alive and well in Makana.
In this same time the DA grew its share of the vote to 22% in 2014 and it's on the rise. The DA's track record of good governance and service delivery where it governs is appealing to voters.
The blind political loyalties of the past are fracturing and in local government it is less about political rhetoric than it is about delivery and this is what the DA does. We deliver.
The DA governed City of Cape Town has received eight consecutive clean audits since 2006/07 while Makana has deteriorated to disclaimer opinions. In 2008/9–the last year the ANC governed the Western Cape–the Auditor General reported that no provincial department received a clean audit.
In 2009/10–the first year the DA governed the Western Cape–the Auditor General reported that seven departments received clean audits. The 2011 Census found that 99.1% of households in the Western Cape had access to piped water.
The 2016 local government election is the most important election for Makana voters since 1994. This municipality has never been in a worse state than it is now and these elections will be another opportunity to bring change to this once proud community.
