UMkhanyakude District Municipality workers are expected to receive their salaries following the Pietermaritzburg High Court’s dismissal of the municipality’s application to prevent the administrator Bamba Ndwandwe, from resuming his duties.

In a media statement issued by KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi on Saturday, Mbambo was expected to resume his work on Monday. Buthelezi said the court had upheld the decision to place the municipality under administration in terms of Section 139(1)(b) of the Constitution.

Buthelezi welcomed the ruling, describing it as a victory for the rule of law, saying the judgment reaffirms the authority of Ndwandwe as the administrator. He further urged the Mayor to ensure the gates of the municipality were opened so that the Administrator could assume his duties and restore normal operations.

Speaking on Monday, Ndwandwe confirmed resuming his duties, adding he had arranged a meeting with the municipal manager to handover the payroll to him so that he can start processing the salaries of the workers.

“I am in Umkhuze right now and I will have a meeting with the municipal manager to hand over the payroll to me as we have agreed. I will need to pay workers today,” said Ndwandwe.

It is not clear whether the administrator was allowed to enter the municipality as the municipality differed with Cogta’s interpretation of the judgment.  The municipality said that the court’s order dealt specifically with an application by the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) to compel the payment of salaries and not the intervention.

The municipality’s day-to-day operations were thrown into turmoil following the municipality and the ANC’s defiance of the provincial cabinet’s decision to place the municipality under administration. In terms of the decision, the administrator was expected to take over the control of the finances from the municipal manager but the municipality resisted and went to court to challenge the cabinet decision, calling it a political ploy by the IFP-led Cogta to strip the ANC-led municipality of its constitutional powers to run the municipality ahead of next year’s elections.

Two weeks ago, Buthelezi was prevented from entering the premises to officially introduce the administrator. The problem led to the delay in processing salaries as the municipal manager was no longer able to access the municipality’s finances.

In its response last week, the IFP dismissed the ANC’s claims, saying the municipality’s finances were in shambles and this is why the provincial cabinet intervened.

willem.phungula@inl.co.za.

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