(File photo: ActionSA)
AfriForum is demanding answers from Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae, Prime Minister of the Free State, about the provincial government’s failure to implement a court order that places the Ngwathe local municipality under administration.
The civil rights organization outlined its request for answers in a letter to the prime minister this week, after it came to light that the municipal council – which should have been dissolved in terms of a court order – last week accepted a budget for the new financial year.
The municipality serves the towns of Parys, Heilbron, Koppies and Vredefort, among others.
The Free State High Court in Bloemfontein already ruled on 20 June last year that the Ngwathe municipality failed in its constitutional, legal and administrative obligations towards residents. The court ordered the provincial government to comply with art. 139(5) of the Constitution to intervene, implement a recovery plan, dissolve the municipal council, appoint an administrator and draw up and approve a temporary budget.
The court order is final and enforceable, after the Constitutional Court rejected the municipality’s last attempt to appeal against the verdict on 2 June this year.
AfriForum says it is concerned because the provincial government has not yet taken the necessary steps to implement this order. Moreover, there is no indication that the municipality has been placed under administration or that an administrator has been appointed.
“According to media reports, the prime minister has indicated that the court order will be carried out without delay. Yet it seems as if the municipal council continues to make decisions as if no court order exists. This raises serious questions about the provincial government’s compliance with its constitutional obligations and the rule of law,” says Alta Pretorius, district coordinator for AfriForum’s Mooirivier region.
In its letter to the prime minister, AfriForum asks that it be confirmed in writing by 26 June which steps have already been taken to carry out the court order; when the intervention will be officially announced; when the municipal council will dissolve and an administrator will be appointed, and how the province intends to give full effect to the court order.
AfriForum says that the Ngwathe municipality’s residents have been suffering for years from poor service delivery, infrastructure decay and management failures. The organization will not hesitate to take further legal action if the provincial government fails to comply with the court order.
“No government institution is above the law. The court gave clear instructions on what must be done to tackle the crisis in this municipality. The Free State government must now show that it respects the court’s authority and is prepared to act in the interests of residents,” says Schalk Burger, chairman of AfriForum’s Parys branch.