The DA in Mantsopa Local Municipality has written to the Speaker, Mvuyo Ncwada, and to Mayor, Mamsie Tsoene, to plead with them to uphold their oath to office. This comes after an informal audit of all resolutions taken in council since 2017 was conducted by DA Councillor, Tania Halse, and a three-page list compiled of resolutions/decisions that have not been implemented.
For a council to be effective, it is imperative that the municipality be held to account. The Speaker and Mayor have no system in place to ensure those council decisions are affected, reflecting the standard of leadership and accountability that has led to the dysfunctionality of the entire council. The council, made up of 18 elected representatives, led by the ANC Mayor and Speaker costs the taxpayer a minimum amount of R600 000 per month.
The DA condemns this fruitless and wasteful expenditure, which ultimately affects service delivery, but also deems the whole democratic process to be moot. Surely by casting your vote, you expect your councillor to effectively hold the municipality to account. By not holding the administration to account, the elected councillors are equally responsible for the collapse of service delivery. The DA will have no part in that.
The DA has submitted the report to the Speaker and will ensure it is presented in the next council meeting. In DA-governed municipalities, the council is effective in employing responsible and qualified municipal managers that implement policies and decisions made in the council. In so doing building a strong and viable municipality that will continue to serve the residents with good governance.