Gauteng premier David Makhura has announced that the Tshwane metropolitan municipality will be placed under administration.

Makhura announced on Thursday that the province had taken a decision to dissolve the municipality’s council that had been continuously failed to pass budgets, elect mayor, supply water, pay its creditors, among other issues.

About six council sittings all ended in chaos with councillors walking out. Without council sitting the city is unable to properly deliver even basic services as no contracts can be signed or any kind of action taken without council approval.

Makhura said the municipality had been “substantially failing” to comply with the directives issued by the province to end the political instability and deliver services.

“Accordingly, the Gauteng Executive Council met on Wednesday afternoon to assess the developments in the city of Tshwane and decided to invoke section 139(1)(c) of the constitution,” Makhura said. “This means that the Tshwane Municipal Council is dissolved and an administrator will be appointed to run the municipality until a new council is elected within 90 days.”

Makhura said it was the provincial mandate to ensure that the municipality was functioning well and that they were well within their constitutional rights to make the decision. He said that they would not be held up by the DA’s threat to take the decision to court.