As the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs department, we continue to call for Councillors in our municipalities to hold themselves to the highest standards of conduct when it comes to the respect of the country’s rule of law.
The latest developments that have taken place within the sphere of local government concerning the conduct of some office bearers in our municipalities leave a lot to be desired.
While we respect the principle of innocence until proven guilty, we are concerned that allegations surrounding office bearers in Msinga, Abaqulusi and Pongola have a direct impact on the credibility of these institutions whose sole mandate is to provide essential services to our communities.
We have full confidence in the law enforcement agencies and their abilities to investigate the serious allegations surrounding these office bearers and take the appropriate actions.
We are also confident that the councils will also play their part as empowered by the councillor’s code of conduct to hold the respective councillors accountable should there be any wrongdoing.
As the Executive Authority in this portfolio I have no intention to fail in my responsibility as empowered by the Systems Act to act against councillors should the councils fail to do their part.
With this in mind, we would like to call for calm within our communities and assure them that it is within their right to demand ethical leadership that will work in their interest and as a department, we are committed to upholding and demanding more from all Councillors, as they took an oath of office when they were sworn into their respective councils.
Issued by the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Sihle Zikalala