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COUNCIL GIVEN SIX MONTHS TO SHAPE UP

UTHUKELA district mayor Mqapheli Sithole says the muni-cipality will continue working with the department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs to make sure that problems at the Indaka local municipality are addressed and service delivery is not disrupted.

The troubled IFP-led municipality in Ladysmith has only six months to turn things around, failing which the provincial government would take over.

The municipality is one of the most poorly run in KwaZulu-Natal, and at least R16,4million has allegedly been misspent.

"We acknowledge that there have been problems and that these problems have affected service delivery, which is why we will do our utmost to ensure that people get the service they deserve because it is us, the third sphere of government, who are closer to the people," said Sithole.

Last week, the provincial department of cooperative governance instituted a forensic probe to look into a number of mismanagement issues, including the misuse of public funds and nepotism.

MEC Nomusa Dube warned that arrests would be made should investigations link any person to the breach of the Municipal Finance Management Act.

The situation in this municipality is so bad that the department has appointed an administrator to try and steer it out of its troubles.

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