KZN Cogta MEC Deploys Expert to Intervention-Threatened Endumeni Municipality
The KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA, Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi, has invoked Section 154 of the Constitution to deploy a technical expert to the Endumeni Local Municipality in Dundee, northern KZN, following the municipality’s repeated failure to pass its 2026/27 annual budget.
Governance expert Thando Manda has been appointed to provide direct technical support and assist in resolving the institutional challenges that have disrupted the budget process.
This intervention comes after Endumeni missed its official statutory deadline of 30 June, as well as a subsequent extended deadline of 31 July.
Following these missed deadlines, the municipality faced the imminent risk of dissolution and provincial administration under Section 139(4) of the Constitution.
The recent intervention by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) aims to stabilize operations and safeguard service delivery before such drastic measures become necessary.
Manda is tasked with working closely with Mayor Councillor Mcebo Mkhize, the municipal manager, and the full council.
He will submit weekly progress reports directly to the COGTA MEC.
