LOUIS TRICHARDT – A motion, which would elevate the mayor to the status of a one man local government, was withdrawn from the agenda of this month's local municipal council meeting.

The motion called for special powers to be delegated to the mayor for the sake of speedy delivery. According to this arrangements, he would merely have to be informed by written reports in a fully constituted meeting.

DA councillor Marie Helm warned that Council will contravene various laws of the country, if it should adopt the motion. She recorded her party's objection to parts of the motion which she rejected as completely unacceptable.

Councillor Makananisa of the DA warned that separate powers cannot be given to individuals and suggested that the first part of the motion, dealing with the allocation of funds for the Local Restructuring Committee, should be separated from the second paragraph, dealing with special powers for the mayor.

The motion stated that the Local Restructuring Committee identified four major items to compose 70% of the 2002/2003 capital projects, namely water, electricity, roads/streets and housing. It proposed that the savings on the 2001/2002 budget be deployed to complete the only 14 villages left without electricity, so that the next budget could concentrate on the rest of the items.

The DA welcomed the idea, but said the good advice should be forwarded to the finance committee and the estimates of 2002/3 and council cannot take such decisions during the current meeting. They therefore recorded their objection against the particular paragraph.

For the sake of speedy delivery, the motion proposed sweeping powers for the mayor in administrative, financial and even individual staff appointment matters. He was to have "the final say on behalf of the ruling party (ANC) in employment matters and be part of all processes for him to jealously guard all the odds which in one way or the other will divert from the focus and objectives of the ruling party of which he has been deployed to be the captain and the coach of the team."

The DA objected to this paragraph, and emphasised that the Council established a Labour Forum which must deal with these issues.

Cllr Helm said the DA distance itself from this paragraph and warned that Council would be in breach of various laws, including the Constitution, the Municipal Structures Act, the Municipal Systems Act and Council's own policies if it should adopt these proposals.

The Speaker, on a proposal by Cllr Dagada, then ruled that the motion was to be kept in abeyance and that no further discussion will be allowed.