mbombela municipality to go under curatorship
15 January 2008

The Mbombela Municipal Council has welcomed Mpumalanga Local Government and Housing MEC's decision to place the municipality under curatorship. Last month the department communicated its intention to place the municipality under curatorship after it had identified that it was under- perfoming in terms of providing services to the people.

The Mbombela Local Municipality is a municipality of South Africa, located in the Ehlanzeni District Municipality, Mpumalanga. The municipality was formed in 2000 by the merger of Hazyview, Nelspruit, and White River local councils. As of the 2001 census, Mbombela's population numbered at 474 805.

Underspending on the Municipal Infrastructure Grant is one of the Department's concerns. The municipality is also said to have over committed itself on the budet for 2010 World Cup preparations. The municipality appointed a contractor for about R920 million whereas it only has a budget of R870 million. Council says these problems are the result of an exodus of all its senior managers during the past year.

The council interprets the departments intervention as a genuine attempt to resolve the problems of the municipality. The council is expected to notify the MEC of its decision immediately.

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