Nine African National Congress (ANC) councillors in Musina Municipality are facing internal disciplinary action, following accusations that they had contributed to repeated instability in the municipal council.
The party says the councillors have been charged with participating in factional activity and boycotting council meetings, which has repeatedly prevented the council from achieving a quorum.
According to party sources, the alleged misconduct triggered a visit this week by Reuben Madadzhe, Secretary of the ANC in Limpopo, along with representatives of the party's Vhembe regional executive. The delegation met with the Musina ANC councillors on Wednesday, 26 November. At the time of our going to press, the outcome of the meeting was not yet known.
The nine councillors are scheduled to face a disciplinary hearing at Musina on 6 December.
Observers say the rift stems from two internal ANC factions. One group, led by the council's Chief Whip, wants meetings resumed, so the council can address concerns over what they regard as excessive salaries for senior municipal officials. The other group — which includes the mayor — has reportedly been reluctant to attend meetings, effectively stalling council business by denying quorum.
Council records show that a meeting convened on 23 July last year collapsed when only 12 of the 24 councillors attended. A follow-up session scheduled for 30 July was similarly aborted for lack of a quorum. Attempts to reconvene on 14 August, 20 August and in subsequent weeks had also failed.
Among the issues at the centre of the dispute is the claim that Musina's municipal officials — including the municipal manager — were appointed on salary scales not appropriate for a municipality of Musina's size. More than a year ago, the provincial MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Basikopo Makamu, warned that Musina (as well as other small municipalities) must bring remuneration packages into line and "get their houses in order."
Despite the warning, the council is said to have ignored the directive, which has fuelled tensions within the ANC in Musina and beyond. The dispute intensified as members prepared for the ANC's Vhembe regional conference earlier this year, where leadership contests between rival factions heightened the divisions within the party.
Under South African law — as contained in the Municipal Systems Act, 2000 — a councillor is required to attend every meeting of the municipal council and any committees of which they are a member, unless leave of absence has been granted or the councillor is required to withdraw from the meeting.
If a councillor fails to attend a meeting without leave, or fails to remain in attendance, the council may impose a fine, as determined by its standing rules. More severely, if a councillor is absent without leave from three or more consecutive council or committee meetings, they must be removed from office as councillor.