COGTA Committee Concerned About The Ineffectiveness Of Section 139 Interventions In Municipalities

LOLO MAPHOPHE

THE Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) questioned the high number of Section 139 interventions in municipalities and their effectiveness in a meeting held earlier this week.

Committee chairperson Faith Muthambi said it was clear that there are serious problems in the application of interventions, and these have long term effects.

She also questioned the costs of putting a municipality under administration, which often add to the financial difficulties.

The committee met with the South African Local Government Association “to discuss concepts of putting struggling municipalities under administration through Section 139 of the Constitution and other related laws.”

Consequently, the Committee proposed that placing struggling municipalities under administration through Section 139 of the Constitution should be the last resort and that provinces must act early through monitoring and support.

According to Committee members, “there was no evidence that the interventions produced the required results. Some