The North West High Court has postponed to 18 November an urgent application by the pressure group Sakeliga Business Club to force the national government not to take control of the Ditsobotla local municipality.
The group believes the dissolution of the Lichtenburg-based municipality is evidence that the provincial government has failed, and therefore should not be allowed to take charge while by-elections are being organised.
The IEC is currently busy preparing for by-elections to be held on the 14th of December, following the dissolution of the municipality by the North West Provincial government in response to infighting in the ANC caucus. Sakeliga has criticised the provincial government for failure to provide basic services like water and electricity to the residents.
The club’s legal representative, Tian Alberts, said the national government must urgently set up a recovery strategy. “It is also quite clear that the North West Provincial Government (NWPG) has failed dismally to bring intervention for years. You will remember that the NWPG has been under administration, so we want the national government to intervene.
“Section 139 7 of the Constitution provides for national intervention, if the provincial government has failed, which is the case in this matter. So, we want the national government to intervene and the recovery plan must be set up by the municipal treasury and financial services,” Alberts said.
He said if the national government fails to intervene then it will be up to the community to take over.
“The government’s intervention strategy must be implemented properly, and if that does not work, we want the communities themselves to intervene, and physically go to the water facilities to ensure that taps do not run dry,” he said.
