NCOP approves dissolution of City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality
19 March 2020
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) has approved the dissolution of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality by the Gauteng Provincial Government.
The NCOP decision was supported by eight of the country's nine provinces, who voted to endorse the recommendations of the Select Committee of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Water and Sanitation and Human Settlements (SCCGTAWSHS). The SCCGTAWSHS recommended the approval of the intervention following a two-day inspection visit to Tshwane on the 17 to 18 March, to fully investigate the circumstances under which the Gauteng provincial government invoked section 139(1)(c) of the Constitution on March 4, 2020.
The Gauteng government invoked section 139(1)(c) arguing that the Tshwane municipality was unable to fulfill its executive obligations in terms of the Constitution and that exceptional circumstances existed, warranting its dissolution.
During its visit, the Select Committee – which is a multiparty committee consisting of 12 Members from the African National Congress, the Democratic Alliance, the Economic Freedom Fighters and the Inkatha Freedom Party – interacted with both the internal and external stakeholders in order to solicit their views and opinions on the constitutional, procedural and substantive matters related to the invocation of section 139(1)(c).