Placing Thabazimbi under administration in interest of residents, says premier
Limpopo Premier Phophi Ramathuba says the decision to place the Thabazimbi Municipality under administration was made in the interest of residents.
The municipality was placed under administration following a unanimous decision taken by the National Council of Provinces on Thursday.
The decision was made after the provincial government took various measures to ensure stability in the municipality, which has faced management challenges since 2021.
After the November 2021 local government elections, the municipality has been run by two parallel councils, the Democratic Alliance and African National Congress-led coalitions.
On Friday, Ramathuba led her executive council on a visit to Thabazimbi to explain the latest developments.
"At the end of the day, having reached out to your employees, all of them, having reached out to your labour unions, having reached out to the community members, to the business forum, the key stakeholder, so that they can understand that it's all about people," she said.
"It is never about an individual; it is never about the executive mayor, it is not about the premier or the MEC of Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements, and Traditional Affairs. It is about the people on the ground who want those services."
An attempt by a group of councillors to obtain a court interdict against the process was unsuccessful, allowing the provincial government to proceed with its plans.
The premier said the provincial government would deploy a team of experts to stabilise the municipality.
"We are not bringing an individual because bringing an individual is a high risk of that individual ending up being co-opted into your system.
"But if we bring a team of experts who understand infrastructure, those who understand finances and of course, they will have a team leader, and they will bring and restore law and order.
"Employees who are not coming to work. I'm going to tell them today that they must look for another job. If you don't want to work, then get out, we will hire somebody who will come and do the work because we need to all come together," she added.
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