Ten thousand reasons not to go ahead with Midvaal merger 

The Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) today announced that it had received nearly 10,000 objections from the public against its proposed merger of the Midvaal and Emfuleni municipalities in Gauteng. 

I will today request that the MDB be summoned to appear before Parliament to explain its reasoning for the proposed merger, particularly in light of this vast number of objections. 

This follows a reply to a DA parliamentary question received from the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Lechesa Tsenoli, in which he confirms that he will not be asking the MDB to table a report on the planned merger in Parliament. 

In the reply the Minister erroneously claims that the MDB's constitutional and statutory framework "does not require or provide for the Minister to table reports regarding the demarcation of specific municipalities in Parliament".

While we appreciate that the Minister is still becoming accustomed to his new position, he would be well advised to visit the MDB's website where he will, in fact, find that "The Board is funded by money appropriated annually by Parliament, and is accountable to Parliament". 

There are now, quite literally, ten thousand reasons not to go ahead with the merger. If the MDB has any good reasons for forging ahead despite clear opposition from residents, we'd love to hear them explained in Parliament. 

This is clearly nothing more than a political move to try and take control of Midvaal away from the DA. We will not allow the MDB to be used as a political tool at the expense of the delivery of quality services where the DA governs. 

Statement issued by John Steenhuisen MP, DA Shadow Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, September 19 2013

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