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West Rand Residents Object Strongly to Proposed Metro

West RandSolly Msimanga DA Gauteng Provincial Chairperson

This past weekend residents of the West Rand came out in their numbers to object to the proposed creation of a metropolitan municipality.

On Saturday and Sunday the DA ran a coordinated awareness campaign throughout the Merafong, Mogale City, Westonaria and Randfontein local municipalities, informing residents of the proposals, and that the deadline for objections expires on 5 June.

Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB)

Residents were completely unaware of the proposals and the deadline, but immediately undertook to lodge their objections with the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB), and signed the DA’s petition opposing the metro – which would be lodged as part of our objections.

The DA is strongly opposed to merging these local municipalities into a metro, as we believe that Cooperative Governance Minister Pravin Gordhan and his provincial counterpart Jacob Mamabolo had other avenues to address the host of administrative governance issues plaguing these municipalities.

The Tshwane Experience

The Tshwane experience has also shown that service delivery has not improved when merging poor performing municipalities, despite the fact that municipal rates were increased – as the debt burden is simply too much to bear.

Tshwane had to absorb a cost of R1 billion to accommodate the merge, and was only compensated R20 million by the provincial government.

This week, the MDB is scheduled to host public participation meetings in each of the four municipalities, and the DA calls on the greater public to arrive in their numbers and raise their concerns and/or objections with the board.

The meetings are scheduled as follows:

  • Tuesday 2 June, Randfontein Council Chamber at 14h00
  • Wednesday, 3 June, Mogale City, Centenary Hall at 15h00
  • Thursday 4 June, Westonaria, Banquet Hall at 15h00
  • Friday 5 June, Carletonville Civic Centre at 15h00

 

The DA will remain at the forefront of the battle for better service delivery and to prevent the formation of a dysfunctional West Rand Metropolitan Municipality.

 

Media enquiries:

Solly Msimanga MPL

DA Gauteng Provincial Chairperson

060 558 8308

[Image source]

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West Rand Metro: Minister Gordhan Succumbs to Internal ANC Pressure

Merger of Four West Rand MunicipalitiesSolly Msimanga DA Gauteng Provincial Chairperson

Cooperative Governance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s sudden turnaround on the merger of four West Rand municipalities into a single metropolitan area is not based on the needs of the people, but to placate provincial ANC interests.

In its latest circular, the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) refers to a letter from the minister requesting that after consultations with Gauteng Cooperative Governance MEC Jacob Mamabolo, the Mogale, Randfontein, Westonaria and Merafong municipalities be merged into a single metropolitan municipality.

Click here to view the circular.

Opposition to the Proposed Merger

While the Minister does not provide any further explanation, pre-emptive moves by the provincial ANC, such as past statements by MEC Mamabolo in the Legislature, the appointment of a “change manager” to manage the merger, and media statements by the West Rand and Gauteng ANC welcoming a proposed merger, are clear indications that vested ANC interests are at play.

The DA opposition to the proposed merger is a matter of record, based on the premise that the area in question does not comply with requirements as set down by legislation, such as high population densities, viable economic nodes and where there is a large movement of people, goods and services within the administrative area.

Spatial Segregation

Furthermore, the so-called assertion that metros are effective service delivery vehicles is untrue, as government’s own research shows that in all South African metros (except the City of Cape Town after 2006 when the DA took over), costs rose and the quality of service delivery declined.

The creation of a Metro will also not address spatial segregation, as all municipalities are mandated by sections 152 and 153 of the Constitution to deliver services, to promote social and economic development, and to budget in such a manner so as to prioritise those needs.

There is no evidence that suggests that basic service delivery and the quality of life of communities in poor performing municipalities improved after being incorporated into metros.

In fact it only happened in the DA-governed City of Cape Town and in municipalities across the country where the DA was elected to govern, such as Midvaal in Gauteng.

Competent Local Government

To this end, the DA will register its opposition to the establishment of a metropolitan municipality in the West Rand with the MDB within the 21-day period, and we call on all affected residents to do so as well.

We will also launch an intensive campaign across all four affected municipalities, explaining to people the reasons behind our opposition, and ask them to join us and lodge their own submissions opposing the merger.

The answer to improved service delivery does not lie in merging poor performing municipalities into metropolitan municipalities, it lies in competent local government, staffed with skilled professionals who put the needs of the people first.

 

Media enquiries:

Solly Msimanga MPL

DA Gauteng Provincial Chairperson

060 558 8308

[Image source]

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Minister Gordhan Must Clear the Air on Proposed West Rand Merger

National Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Pravin Gordhan’s indecisiveness the proposed intention to merge four West Rand municipalities into a metro, is causing much confusion and uncertainty for residents and business alike.Alan Fuchs DA Gauteng Constituency Head – Mogale City

On 13 January 2015 the minister proposed the amalgamation of the Randfontein, Merafong, Westonaria and Mogale City municipalities to the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB).

The DA has subsequently come out strongly against the proposal because the West Rand fails to meet the criteria for a metro, as stipulated in the Demarcation Act, namely high densities, large economic nodes, a developed economy and a high volume of movement of goods and people.

In the latest MDB bulletin released in April, it is indicated that the Minister’s initial January proposal had been withdrawn.

As it stands, there is no proposal on the table for the creation of a Metro in the West Rand.

However, the same MDB bulletin indicates that public participation meetings will be held in early May 2015 to discuss ward boundaries in Mogale City, Merafong and a new council arising from the merger of the Randfontein and Westonaria councils.

No mention is made of the consideration of the external boundaries of a Metro, thus shrouding the proposal of a West Rand Metropolitan Municipality in uncertainty.

Is it the intention of the Minister to scrap the Metro or not?

To this end, our colleagues in the National Assembly will submit written questions to Minister Gordhan asking the minister to clarify, giving West Rand residents a clearer picture of what to expect in the run-up to the 2016 local government elections.

 

Media enquiries:

Alan Fuchs MPL

DA Gauteng Constituency Head – Mogale City

060 558 8313

[Image source]