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MINISTRY
COOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AND TRADITIONAL AFFAIRS
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NUMBER PQ 2015/1363
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 April 2015
QUESTION
PQ2015/1363. Mr K J Mileham (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative
Governance and Traditional Affairs:
(1) Whether he intends to make any further proposals beyond those
contained in Circulars 2 to 6 of 2015 of the Municipal Demarcation
Board (MDB) for the (a) amalgamation and/or (b) dissolution and/or
(c) reclassification of municipalities in terms of section 22 of the
Local Government: Municipal Demarcation Act, Act 27 of 1998, prior to
the 2016 local government elections; if so, (a) which municipalities
will be affected in each case, (b) when does he intend to make the
request to the MDB and (c) when does he anticipate this process to be
completed;
(2) whether Circular 6 of 2015 issued by the MDB is correct in stating
that all requests made in terms of his letter of 13 January 2015 to
the board have been withdrawn; if so, (a) which municipalities are
still affected by the proposed amalgamations, dissolutions and/or
reclassifications and (b) which municipalities are no longer affected
by the proposed amalgamations, dissolutions and/or reclassifications;
if not, what is the status of Circular 6 of 2015, wherein it is stated
that the Minister's initial requests in his letters dated 13 January
2015 which was attached to Circular 1 of 2015 have been withdrawn
REPLY:
(1) At the MinMEC meeting of 4 December 2014, all provinces were
requested to provide a list of municipalities whose boundaries should
be considered for determination or redetermination, in order to make
such areas functional and viable.
A detailed reading of circulars 5 and 6 will indicate that,
of the 9 provinces, only the Gauteng Province was not dealt with
(while Western Cape opted not to have the boundaries of any
municipality re-determined)
A request was received from the MEC responsible for local government
in the Gauteng Province on 13 April 2014, and after consideration, I
requested the Municipal Demarcation Board (âthe MDBâ) on 15 April
2015, in terms of section 22(2) of the Municipal Demarcation Act to
consider the request.
The request to the MDB was to consider creating a Category A
municipality for the whole of the West Rand District Municipality,
with the Mogale City Local Municipality as its core.
(2)(a) Yes.
On 31 March 2015, I informed the MDB that previous requests made
during December 2014 and January 2015, in terms of section 22(2) of
the Municipal Demarcation Act, were withdrawn.
(b) The Memberâs attention is drawn to Circular 5 of the MDB which
sets out those areas which will be considered by the MDB, and those
areas which will not be considered.
A copy of Circular 5 is attached herewith for the Memberâs further
perusal