DA-run Thabazimbi Local Municipality has been placed under administration following years of “power grab” struggles and delayed service delivery due to ongoing litigation between the party and the ANC.
The Limpopo Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements, and Traditional Affairs (Coghsta) said on Thursday that a decision to authorise the provincial executive to place Thabazimbi municipality under Section 139(1)(c) was taken by the ANC provincial leadership which felt that the municipality was unable to fulfil its obligation in terms of the law.
According to Coghsta’s recent report, this will make Thabazimbi the 10th municipality in the country to be placed under administration due to the endless ongoing and costly litigation between the DA and the ANC.
“We have been made aware of the recent developments and we can confirm that the provincial government has resolved to place the municipality under administration following a long consultative process.
“The department has been providing ongoing support to the municipality since 2022 to address persistent governance and management challenges. The proposed intervention is aimed at restoring governance, upholding the rule of law, and improving service delivery for the residents of Thabazimbi,” Limpopo Coghsta spokesperson Molebatsi Masedi.
Last week, the publication revealed that councillor David Masilo who claimed to be the rightful Chief Whip wrote a letter addressed to the Public Protector, mentioning that the last local government elections ushered in an unprecedented challenge where the municipality stopped properly functioning.
Masilo claimed that after the 2021 local government elections, the DA, Thabazimbi Forum for Service Delivery, Thabazimbi Residents Association, and the EFF formed a coalition government.
Councillor Tokkie Swanepoel became Mayor, Councillor Ben Tlhabadira became the Speaker of Council and Councillor Tokkie Sikwane became the Chief Whip.
However, this was followed by what has now become a long court battle awaiting a decision of the Constitutional Court on who the legitimate Leaders of the Municipality were after a series of court disputes between the two factions battling for power.
On October 12, 2022, the ANC, with the support of the EFF, passed a motion of no confidence in the Mayor and the Speaker respectively.
“This resulted in the election of Councillor Judith Mogale as Mayor and Councillor Tshegofatso Ramoabi as the Speaker. The council also removed Councillor Stokkie Sikwane as the Chief Whip and elected Councillor David Masilo as the Chief Whip. Council also removed Lindiwe Makaya who was the Director of Planning and Economic Development as the Acting Municipal Manager and appointed Mr Segale Pilane as the Acting Municipal Manager,” wrote Masilo.
Following this, ousted Speaker Tlhabadira approached the court, which set aside the decision by council to remove them.
On October 9, 2023, ANC councillors approached the Polokwane high court to interdict Makaya who was appointed Acting Manager, from accessing the municipal funds kept in the Absa bank, the interdict was granted in their favour on the same day.
However, the power grab battle did not end there, after another court review application, the ruling preventing Makaya from accessing the funds was held until the main case where Swanepoel and Tlhabadira won the Supreme Court of Appeal case in which the court dismissed the ANC’s case seeking to remove Swanepoel and Tlhabadira.
The ANC caucus in Thabazimbi has since approached the Concourt.
The Thabazimbi DA Constituency Head Desiree van der Walt accused the ANC of sabotaging services by challenging every court outcome.
“We have taken notice of the intention to put Thabazimbi Local Municipality under Section 139 (1) (c) which will dissolve the municipality.
“We took legal action against the ANC and their Municipal Manager almost two years ago.
“They however never accepted any court judgment and have appealed judgments against them every time. Currently, we await the outcomes of the Constitutional Court,” said Van der Walt.
She also stressed the need to respect democratically elected leadership, including coalitions.
During a media briefing held last month in Polokwane on August 14, Limpopo Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba announced that the executive council has decided to rule Section 139(1)(c) of the constitution to address the municipality’s challenges.
Ramathuba said the decision to place the municipality under administration was based on a detailed report to the executive council, which highlighted ongoing governance and management problems in Thabazimbi Local Municipality since 2022.
“The report detailed significant dysfunction within the council, compounded by high vacancies in the key management positions…
“Despite previous interventions by Coghsta and the provincial Treasury, the situation has not improved,” she said.
The ANC in Limpopo promised to respond but did not do so by the time of publication.