DA calls for accountability on delayed Elias Motsoaledi SOMA debate

GROBLERSDAL

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Limpopo has written to the Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality Speaker (EMLM), Cllr Junior Thethe, to urge her convene a State of the Municipal Address (SOMA) debate, which they say it has been delayed for the past six months.

The EMLM SOMA has since been delivered by Mayor Cllr David Tladi in July 2024, however, there was no debate since then which is a contravention of Council Provision Rule 10 A, which stipulates that the SOMA must be debated within seven days after being delivered.

Sipho Mmaboko, DA Councillor in EMLM, the council speaker has failed to execute one of her responsibilities of inviting councillors to debate the SOMA without offering any valid reasons.

“The municipality has made a habit of delaying SOMA debates in previous years, but going six months without scheduling the debate is a clear indication that both the speaker and the mayor do not take the council and the communities they serve seriously,” said Mmaboko.  

He insisted that the DA has tried to seek clarity from the speaker on the long delay in debating the SOMA, however, they were responded that the mayor was waiting for the community to send questions. 

“This is not an acceptable or valid reason for such a long delay and the speaker cannot contravene the council rules arbitrarily. The DA is committed to ensuring that residents receive quality services and value for money from projects meant to benefit communities. We will continue to oppose possible corruption and wasteful expenditure,” concluded Mmaboko.

EMLM Spokesperson, Simon Makua, confirmed to the paper that indeed the municipality did not hold the SOMA debate, as stipulated in the standing rule and orders of Council Provision 10 A.

“This is because councillors did not submit questions or comments to the speaker’s office. The submission of questions, input and clarity would have served as a basis for speaker to call the debate and to summon the mayor to come and respond. The absence of questions meant that there was no need to convene a meeting for the debate,” he said.