Madibeng - Residents of Madibeng should exercise restraint and remain calm as their municipality is under provincial administration, North West premier Thandi Modise said on Wednesday.
Modise said the residents' patience was needed while the impasse between provincial government and councillors opposed to the intervention was being resolved.
“Though the obstruction and defiance momentarily delays the intervention, we are confident that the unfortunate setback will be speedily resolved,” she said in a statement.
Modise asked the municipality's councillors to consider the communities ahead of their own personal interests.
The municipality, which oversees services in Majakaneng, Mothutlung and Hebron, was placed under administration by the provincial executive council on Monday.
The process could last between six months and a year.
Modise said councillors seemed to be in favour of provincial support in terms of Section 154 of the Constitution.
Administration under this section does not withdraw executive and legislative powers, and puts those implicated in fraud, maladministration and corruption in a position to obstruct efforts to rid the municipality of these problems.
“The province is amenable to the concurrent implementation of Section 139(1) (b) with Section 154 national routine support as the latter brings dedicated support to the provincial intervention,” Modise said.
Section 139 (1) (b) states that when a municipality does not fulfil an executive obligation, the provincial executive may intervene by taking appropriate steps to correct the situation.
These steps include assuming responsibility for the relevant obligation in the municipality to maintain standards of a service or prevent the municipal council from taking unreasonable action prejudicial to another municipality or to the province.
Modise said that these sections of the Constitution were not mutually exclusive and together could provide integrated support without compromising executive authority.
On Tuesday Modise said the municipality was dysfunctional and had failed to fulfil its legislative obligations.
The residents went on the rampage several weeks ago following a water shortage in the area.
Four people died in Mothutlung, near Brits, during the violent protests.
In nearby Hebron, residents called for the resignation of their ward councillor amid service delivery protests.
They claimed the councillor neither listened to them nor addressed their grievances.
Last month Madibeng mayor Poppy Mangongwa and two other officials, chief whip Solly Malete and speaker Buti Makhongela, resigned.
No reason was given for their resignations.
Sapa