Parliament demands urgent action to fix dysfunctional Ramotshere Moiloa Municipality

By Thapelo Molefe

Parliament’s joint oversight delegation has sounded the alarm over what it described as “deeply troubling” dysfunction at the Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality in North West, urging urgent intervention to restore governance and basic services.

The delegation — made up of members from the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, and the Standing Committee on the Auditor-General — visited the municipality on Monday as part of a wider probe into underperforming municipalities. The North West Provincial Legislature also joined the oversight visit.

During the engagement, the mayor, speaker, municipal manager and chief financial officer conceded to years of instability, unfunded budgets and severe financial distress, including more than R94 million owed to Eskom.

Residents have repeatedly taken to the streets in protest, mainly over persistent water shortages.

The municipality’s work has also been crippled by political infighting, alleged unlawful