The DA will write to the speaker, Cllr Joyce Nkoabela, regarding the ongoing failure of Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality to appoint a Municipal Manager and a Director for Planning and Local Economic Development (LED). The Municipal Manager position has not been permanently filled since November 2024 and the Director for Planning and LED since 2022.
This persistent leadership vacuum is not a minor administrative setback, but a clear indication of the deep structural and political dysfunction that continues to plague the municipality.
The absence of competent Municipal Manager leadership has devastating consequences, including service delivery collapse, staff morale deteriorates, and essential projects remain stagnant. Meanwhile, residents are left to endure unreliable services, collapsing infrastructure, and a total lack of accountability.
The failure to appoint a director for Planning and LED continues to hamper economic development in the municipality, obstructs the creation of economic opportunities, and negatively affects investment opportunities and attempts to reduce unemployment in the municipality.
To address this crisis, the DA calls on the municipality to act decisively by implementing the following:
- Conduct a transparent review of the recruitment process: An independent audit must investigate why previous recruitment attempts have failed and whether political interference or flawed selection criteria are to blame.
- Engage professional recruitment services: Independent recruitment specialists must be appointed to ensure qualified candidates are sourced in a transparent and credible manner.
- Revise the job specifications and package: The municipality must align the position with competitive remuneration, clear deliverables, and performance-based contracts.
- Escalate to provincial oversight if necessary: Should the municipality continue to fail, the matter must be referred to the MEC for Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs for urgent intervention.
The DA is committed to ensure the residents of Lepelle-Nkumpi finally benefit from ethical, capable, and appropriately qualified senior management that delivers services and prioritises the basic needs of communities.