Local municipalities in Gauteng's West Rand are unable to appoint full-time municipal managers as the Municipal Demarcation Board is still considering merging struggling councils in the area. The local Randfontein and Merafong City municipalities can only appoint acting municipal managers until the 2016 local government elections. Randfontein and Merafong City are among the most troubled municipalities in Gauteng.It is has been proposed that Randfontein be merged with Westonaria to create a new category B municipality.But Gauteng Premier David Makhura is averse to the proposal as both municipalities are " bankrupt".Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Pravin Gordhan has proposed that Merafong, Randfontein, Westonaria and Mogale municipalities be merged into a single West Rand metro.Yesterday, the Municipal Demarcation Board conducted public hearings in Randfontein on the proposal.The DA is vehemently opposed to the merger.The DA's constituency officer in Mogale City, Gregory Dalton, said: "It is not financially and legally viable. It will not be good for the people."It has been proven in Tshwane and Ekurhuleni that when [a large new metro was created], it decreased service delivery and increased the cost of living."But Moeketsi Maxeke, the ANC's representative in Randfontein, said the merger "will help the government to deal with fragmentation and also ensure that all its resources are centralised".He said those opposed to the merger "miss an opportunity to be futuristic [sic]".The decision of the board will be gazetted before the end of August and a 30-day period will be opened for objection. If the board rejects the proposal, then it will have to implement its 2013 decision, which approved the merger of Westonaria and Randfontein municipalities...