The Office of the Premier has confirmed receiving the Kenton-on-Sea Ratepayers Association’s January 30 request to have Ndlambe placed under administration. However, it says, the province’s intervention in terms of Section 139 is not undertaken lightly. Meanwhile neighbours Boesmansriviermond Ratepayers Organisation (BRRAG) have emphasised that they support a collaborative approach with municipal officials, rather than litigation. And the Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) cautions that in the Eastern Cape, Section 139 interventions have a low success rate.
Fourteen annexures accompany KOSRA’s request, in support of the organisation’s assertion that Ndlambe isn’t fulfilling its governance obligations and is failing to provide basic services because its finances are in crisis. KOSRA says their request comes after several years of unsuccessful attempts to engage constructively with the municipality.
The letter signed by chair Kevin van Huyssteen details KOSRA’s specific concerns about finances and service delivery. Under finance, KOSRA says more than R1.77 billion in unauthorised and irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure (UIFWE) has been written off since 2019 and that compared to Ndlambe’s total annual budget, that amount is “utterly excessive”. KOSRA says it shows Ndlambe is unable to manage its finances, with the annual financial statement showing continued significant losses through its electricity and water provision. KOSRA further cites high water losses, below-budget debt collection rates and irreconcilable differences between the integrated development plans (IDPs) and budgets for 2024/25 and 2025/26 to further support its assertion of financial crisis.
Under service delivery, KOSRA flags the long-term unavailability of water in many parts of Wards 3 and 4 including Merryhill, Norfolk Place, Two Rivers Place, parts of Boesmansriviermond, Ekuphumleni and Marselle.
“The main business area and the residential areas in Kenton-on-Sea are repeatedly without water for periods that extend from a few days to a month or more,” KOSRA says.
New houses had been erected in Marselle without water being available; Marselle, Klipfontein and Ekuphumleni were dependent on waterborne sewage systems which were inoperational because of the lack of water; the Ekuphumleni sewage works frequently overflowed into the Kariega Estuary; and there weren’t enough honeysuckers to service the conservancy tanks installed in new housing.
KOSRA says the Water Services Development Plan published on Ndlambe’s website falls short of the Water Services Act.
Environmental degradation that KOSRA urgently flags in Ndokwenza next to the R343 are illegal dumping of builders’ rubble and the destruction of coastal forest where informal settlements with no sewerage or water provision are being established.
In its letter, KOSRA acknowledged two positive developments.
First, a partnership between KOSRA and Ndlambe to improve poorly maintained roads in Kenton-on-Sea and second, the appointment by the municipality of Sizwe Amanzi to operate the Bushmans River reverse osmosis plant and issuing of a tender for the management and repair of the water reticulation.
In their conclusion, KOSRA says, “Ndlambe is on a course that can only lead to collapse, with ratepayers already paying some of the highest tariffs in the country. The very poor financial status of Ndlambe coupled with the inability of its officials to prepare workable budgets that speak to the requirements of the IDP and manage its finances sustainable can ony mean that service delivery will always remain compromised.”
A particular frustration for KOSRA was that their submissions to Ndlambe on the budget over the past two years, as well as their suggestions to maximise through partnerships disaster relief funding allocated for Kenton-on-Sea roads, had been ignored.
KOSRA called on the provincial government to intervene in terms of Section 139(1) and/or Section 139(5) “before it is too late to avoid disaster”.
Sustainable solutions
Responding to TOTT’s media enquiry, spokesperson for the Premier Sonwabo Mbananga confirmed that the Office of the Premier had received KOSRA’s Section 139 request.
“Premier Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane takes all representations from communities and stakeholders seriously, particularly where they relate to service delivery, governance, and the well-being of residents,” Mbananga said. “Section 139 of the Constitution provides for provincial intervention in a municipality, only where there is clear evidence that the municipality cannot or does not fulfil an executive obligation in terms of legislation. Such an intervention is a serious constitutional mechanism and is not undertaken lightly, nor in response to representations alone, but on the basis of a thorough and objective assessment.”
Mbananga said the Premier had requested a detailed report from the relevant provincial departments, including Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), to assess the concerns raised and to determine whether existing challenges fall within the scope of normal governance support and oversight, or whether further constitutional steps were warranted.
“It is important to note that water service challenges are not unique to Ndlambe and must be addressed within the broader context of infrastructure maintenance, funding constraints, and operational capacity,” Mbananga said. “The Provincial Government remains committed to working collaboratively with the municipality to ensure sustainable solutions.
“At this stage, no decision has been taken regarding a Section 139 intervention. The matter will be considered strictly in line with constitutional prescripts and the best interests of the residents of Ndlambe. The Premier remains committed to ensuring that all municipalities in the Eastern Cape function effectively, transparently, and in service of their communities,” Mbananga said.
Collaborative approach
BRRAG chair Lotter Wepener, asked to comment, said, “We are aware of some shortcomings in the Ndlambe municipality, but we believe that one must also be realistic.
“BRRAG believes that working with the municipality and municipal officials is beneficial for both our community and the municipality. We serve on various fora that assist the municipality with advice, and we support it to attain better service delivery.
“This was the 100% opinion expressed by members at our AGM in December. To embark on a section 139 intervention a few months before the local authority elections seems to us to be of no value to anyone and will probably result in ratepayer money being spent on this issue by the municipality rather than on important maintenance. It is unlikely to be of any value before the next elections occur.
“Our members love to visit Boesmansriviermond and have a pleasant holiday – and not to be involved in aggravation and unpleasant confrontation. We believe that this type of action is detrimental to tourism for our area and counterproductive for development. We are a close-knit community that loves assisting members of our community as well as the wider community and to have happy holiday times in our Village,” Wepener said.
Speaking on behalf of Ndlambe, communications manager TK Mtiki said the municipality would comment after discussions among management and in the council.
Do Section 139 interventions work?
The Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) welcomed KOSRA’s action to try and address service delivery challenges within Ndlambe Municipality.
However, Jay Kruuse, speaking on behalf of the organisation, cautioned, “Unfortunately, ANC led provincial cabinets have a very poor history of being able to effectively implement section 139 interventions in the Eastern Cape.”
Research and first-hand experience of active citizens had shown that s.139 interventions worked best when there was:
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strong political will to address deep seated systemic challenges within a municipality;
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actual administrative capacity within the municipality and provincial department of local government;
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accountability follow-through during and after the intervention: “This includes real consequences for persons implicated in gross negligence and wilful misconduct that contributes towards service delivery failures. Often municipal councils do not exercise their legal responsibilities, especially when persons are implicated in alleged unlawful conduct,” Kruuse said.
Kruuse said too often these interventions treated the symptoms and not the root causes of a municipality’s dysfunction. In other provinces where section 139 interventions had achieved some success, it had been found that for instance:
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recovery plans were implemented with certain measurable targets achieved;
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some municipal committees improved their functioning during and after the intervention;
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there was better use of allocated funds going forward’
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municipal debt was reduced significantly.
“Section 139 interventions that work have narrow and problem specific strategies to address certain municipal failings. They avoid overly broad mandates and rather give intervening administrators clear powers and objectives,” Kruuse said.
“It’s also critical that appointed administrators have strong technical backgrounds and clear authority from the provincial Cabinet to, for instance sign contracts, discipline staff and cancel irregular tenders at the municipality.
“It is also critical that Cabinet supports administrators publicly and consistently throughout an intervention. If this occurs then it’s more likely that municipal officials will comply with the corrective action being taken by an empowered administrator. Also when an administrator has the clear backing of Cabinet during the intervention it reduces the potential for political interference by local politicians.
“Successful interventions also tend to work better when provincial leadership engaged with party structures early, when Councils are kept informed but not allowed to obstruct. In some cases, councils were dissolved when obstruction was persistent.”
Most Eastern Cape interventions had failed not because Section 139 was flawed, but because administrators lacked clear mandates and were not adequately protected by provincial leadership; political confrontation was avoided; financial recovery plans ignored economic realities on the ground; and no consequences followed for those implicated in serious failings.
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This article was first published in Talk of the Town, February 12, 2026. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays
