National Government takes control of important South African municipality

Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Velenkosini Hlabisa has placed the collapsing Ditsobotla Local Municipality (DLM) in the North West Province under national administration.

This follows ongoing reports of a collapse of basic service delivery, political instability, corruption, and financial mismanagement in the district.

Piet le Roux, the CEO of non-profit organisation Sakeliga, said the National Government “has finally done the right thing” by intervening after ongoing litigation by his organisation.

“It is shameful that they have only done so after litigation and after Sakeliga had to inform them that we will have public cost orders sought against the President and several ministers if they do not act on their obligations,” he said.

“Whether they properly execute what they should is up to us to evaluate, along with several other organisations. We will monitor and evaluate the success of this national intervention.”

The Democratic Alliance also welcomed the decision, saying that this is the first time the National Government has “accepted its responsibility to ensure accountable and effective governance” in a North West municipality.

“This decision marks the first step towards cleaning out the mafia-style criminality that has crippled Ditsobotla over the last 20 years,” it added.

The DLM consists of Lichtenburg, Coligny, and Ga-Raphalane and has more than 200,000 residents.

DLM is a significant agricultural hub in the heart of the North West with critical manufacturing, wholesale, and retail industries.

However, political chaos has consumed the municipality, resulting in ongoing water and electricity failures and collapsing sanitation and road infrastructure.

The municipality’s failures have also significantly impacted local business and investment. Clover closed its flagship cheese factory in Lichtenburg in 2021, which it attributed to poor service delivery and infrastructure problems.

President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the municipality in 2022, referring to it as “a town taken over by gangsters.” Similarly, Hlabisa described it as “one of the ten most distressed municipalities in the country.”

Following the President’s visit, he said that there would be a “municipality fit for purpose” by the end of the year, something that never materialised.

The legal battle

Sakeliga first took the DLM to court several years ago, which resulted in urgent interventions for the supply of water and electricity.

It then approached the courts in October 2023 to demand provincial intervention from the North West government under section 139(5) of the Constitution.

The court ruled in favour of Sakeliga, ordering the North West Province to intervene. However, the organisation said that this proved ineffective and decided to escalate its demands.

In April 2025, Sakeliga demanded that Ramaphosa and his cabinet intervene to rescue DLM under Section 139(7) of the Constitution.

The court order also sought a declaration that the President and several ministers were acting unlawfully by allowing the DLM to reach the point of collapse.

The DA also joined the fight earlier in the year, with DA North West Member of the Provincial Legislature Chris Steyl writing a letter to Hlabisa, and Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana demanding intervention.

“The Ditsobotla Local Municipality has collapsed and is completely bankrupt, with its liabilities exceeding its assets. Service providers cannot be paid and refuse to respond to job orders,” Steyl said.

“Water and electricity infrastructure has completely collapsed, leaving large sections of the municipality without any water and electricity supply for weeks on end, never mind the inability of the administration to respond to other service delivery needs.”

The DA wrote another letter in May and another in June after the National Government failed to react to their demands.

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