The announcement by Sedibeng mayor Simon Mofokeng that his district municipality intends establishing a Regional Authority is illegal. There is no provision for such a structure in South African municipal law and the district should rather focus on executing its current obligations to the advantage of the whole Sedibeng region in south Gauteng.
Such a structure will have no legal status or powers and would constitute a waste of precious local government resources. If the district adhered to its current legal obligations it would be more effective than a regional authority would be.
The Sedibeng mayor’s announcement that he wants to turn the district municipality into a metro follows a similar announcement by the West Rand District Municipality mayor earlier this week. A metro should not be established in any of these two districts as it would remove local government further from those it should serve, its residents. Smaller municipalities are more viable as Midvaal has proven. All that is needed is good political leadership and officials that can do the job.
Although the Gauteng government has indicated a preference for establishing metros all over the province, it should rather contemplate disestablishing the remaining district municipalities to free up more resources for local municipalities.
The DA in Gauteng will oppose any attempt to move municipal government further away from residents. Any such move should be supported by viability studies rather than be based on the whim of a district mayor.
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