Johannesburg - The battle between the DA and the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) over the possible merger of Midvaal and Emfuleni municipalities to form a new metro is set for the courts early next year.
Midvaal is the only municipality in Gauteng controlled by the DA, but the merger would most likely see it coming under ANC control after local government elections in 2016.
While the municipality is challenging the move, the DA has also intervened in the matter as an interested party, as the move might see it losing control of the only municipality it runs in the province.
The MDB is tasked with delimiting wards and determining municipal boundaries ahead of the local government elections, a task that often results in dissatisfaction from communities, depending on how they’re affected. The DA said this week that it was in the interests of the ANC in Gauteng for the Midvaal and Emfuleni to be merged.
StatsSA figures shows the Emfuleni municipality had a population of more than 700 000 in 2011, with Midvaal having just over 90 000 residents.
If the two zones were to be merged, the ANC would most likely win the elections, and control the new metro that would be formed.
“We are honest in that we do not rate our chances of winning Emfuleni. We would certainly gain some wards but we do not see ourselves winning the entire metro,” said DA MPL Mike Moriarty.
He added: “As far as Midvaal is concerned, however, we are absolutely confident of winning it with an increased majority. The same cannot be said of the ANC in Midvaal if the municipalities remained separate.
“There are no grounds for the merger, and we would not be spending valuable resources to fight this case if we were not convinced that it’s winnable.”
He said that while Midvaal was performing well, the Emfuleni municipality’s financial affairs were showing strain because of poor governance and management.
“It is not that the problems of Emfuleni cannot be solved. It does not need a merger to bring them into line. It is a matter of quality management, which is being experienced in Midvaal.
“There’s a body of evidence that there are really no grounds to merge these municipalities, and we will argue this in court. I would not want to reveal our arguments on the sidelines of the court process, but we will argue against the proposed merger,” said Moriarty.
MDB spokesman Jabu Mthembu said the board could not comment on the case as it was currently before the court.
However, he confirmed that it was the only objection that was currently before the courts against the board, although there are other objections that have been raised in other parts of the country.
In KwaZulu-Natal, for instance, there were objections to some of the mergers that would see the number of municipalities there reduced by seven.
The ANC in Gauteng, which obviously supports the proposed merger of the municipalities, said the merger would be in the best interests of service delivery and economic development in the area.
ANC spokesman Dumisa Ntuli said the DA was opposed to the merger because of “selfish political interests”.
“The DA wants to continue empowering the Afrikaners who own those plots in the area, while the areas where black people reside remain undeveloped.
“The petitions that have been signed in favour of the merger include signatures even from white people who acknowledge that there is a lack of development in many areas there.
“We need a metro there, as there is usually development in the metros but lack of it in smaller municipalities, that struggle to raise sufficient revenue to deliver services,” said Ntuli.
He said the assertion that the ANC was supporting the move because it wanted to gain control of Midvaal was false.
“That is not true. This is about service delivery, economic development and the improvement of people’s lives. We cannot ignore the fact that some communities are served better than others,” he said.
The ANC’s view that bigger metros are best placed to deliver services is in sharp contrast to the DA’s view on the matter.
According to Moriarty, smaller municipalities were much easier to manage as there is, among other things, less bureaucracy and reduced overheads.
Sunday Independent