The Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) will not consider merging the Great Kei municipality and Buffalo City Metro before the 2016 local elections.
The notice was contained in the board’s most recent circular, issued on March 24. The MDB stated that it had already considered the proposal previously and that it was not approved.
The amalgamation was proposed by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Pravin Gordhan when he recommended that struggling municipalities be incorporated or amalgamated with financially viable ones.
The initial proposal was to dissolve nine of the Eastern Cape’s 45 municipalities and merge them with more viable neighbouring ones.
The deadline for the proposals to be implemented was set for October this year.
Public meetings were held at the beginning of the year by both BCM and Great Kei, where civil society was given an opportunity to air their views after the metro objected to the proposal.
BCM speaker Luleka Simon-Ndzele during the meetings strongly objected to the merger when she said “the impoverished rural neighbour would be a headache and a burden to ratepayers”.
BCM executive mayor Zukiswa Ncitha said: “This was not our call, this was a national call. All I can say is that out of the consultations held with the public the MDB decided it was not the right time for the merger to happen.”
Great Kei acting municipal manager Viwe Mapukata earlier this week said he could only comment after Tuesday’s council meeting. However, he could not be reached for comment yesterday.
MDB board chairwoman Jane Thupana said the decision was reached after the outcome of public meetings were submitted to the board.
“In compliance with section 27 , the MDB has considered all views and representations when making the decisions,” said Thupana.
The DA in Buffalo City has welcomed the announcement.
DA councillor Jan Smit said the party was pleased that the proposed merger will no longer happen.
“The DA was against the merger from the start and lodged objections. BCM has its own challenges and problems.
“The merger with Great Kei would have been to the detriment of both Great Kei local municipality and BCM. BCM administration can now focus on resolving its own issues without the burden of incorporating a vast new area into its boundaries,” said Smit.
Buffalo City Ratepayers’ Forum chairman Andre Swart also welcomed the decision.
“BCM is already struggling to service its residents. Service delivery would have been much worse if the merger had happened,” said Swart.
Meanwhile the other mergers of Camdeboo, Ikwezi and Baviaans; Nkonkobe and Nxuba; Tsolwana and Inkwanca and Lukhanji; and Maletswai with Gariep were still being considered by the MDB. — arethal@dispatch.co.za
No to BCM, Great Kei merger
The notice was contained in the board’s most recent circular, issued on March 24. The MDB stated that it had already considered the proposal previously and that it was not approved.
The amalgamation was proposed by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Pravin Gordhan when he recommended that struggling municipalities be incorporated or amalgamated with financially viable ones.
The initial proposal was to dissolve nine of the Eastern Cape’s 45 municipalities and merge them with more viable neighbouring ones.
The deadline for the proposals to be implemented was set for October this year.
Public meetings were held at the beginning of the year by both BCM and Great Kei, where civil society was given an opportunity to air their views after the metro objected to the proposal.
BCM speaker Luleka Simon-Ndzele during the meetings strongly objected to the merger when she said “the impoverished rural neighbour would be a headache and a burden to ratepayers”.
BCM executive mayor Zukiswa Ncitha said: “This was not our call, this was a national call. All I can say is that out of the consultations held with the public the MDB decided it was not the right time for the merger to happen.”
Great Kei acting municipal manager Viwe Mapukata earlier this week said he could only comment after Tuesday’s council meeting. However, he could not be reached for comment yesterday.
MDB board chairwoman Jane Thupana said the decision was reached after the outcome of public meetings were submitted to the board.
“In compliance with section 27 , the MDB has considered all views and representations when making the decisions,” said Thupana.
The DA in Buffalo City has welcomed the announcement.
DA councillor Jan Smit said the party was pleased that the proposed merger will no longer happen.
“The DA was against the merger from the start and lodged objections. BCM has its own challenges and problems.
“The merger with Great Kei would have been to the detriment of both Great Kei local municipality and BCM. BCM administration can now focus on resolving its own issues without the burden of incorporating a vast new area into its boundaries,” said Smit.
Buffalo City Ratepayers’ Forum chairman Andre Swart also welcomed the decision.
“BCM is already struggling to service its residents. Service delivery would have been much worse if the merger had happened,” said Swart.
Meanwhile the other mergers of Camdeboo, Ikwezi and Baviaans; Nkonkobe and Nxuba; Tsolwana and Inkwanca and Lukhanji; and Maletswai with Gariep were still being considered by the MDB. — arethal@dispatch.co.za
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