BLOEMFONTEIN: The DA in the Free State has welcomed the National Treasury’s intention to withhold the equitable share of ten of 19 municipalities in the province. This is owing to repeated failure by authorities to comply with financial control measures, as well as lack of consequence management.
The DA is the main opposition political party in the province whilst the ruling party, the ANC, governs all the municipalities. Extending several years, the failure by authorities has seen the collapse of basic service delivery, rendering municipalities dysfunctional. The municipalities include Letsemeng, Kopanong, Mohokare, Masilonyana, Matjhabeng, Nketoana, Maluti-a-Phofung, Phumelela, Ngwathe, and Mafube.
David MacKay, provincial DA spokesperson on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), said the ten municipalities have violated financial expenditure control measures and have failed to meet basic obligations, describing them as a “financial sinkhole.” He said the DA fully supports the National Treasury’s decision to tighten the belt and put in place systems to compel the authorities of the trouble-ridden municipalities to pay their debts.
“Obligations include paying water boards, pension funds, medical aids, and South African Revenue Services (Sars). Their inability to adopt properly funded budgets has created huge debts to multiple parties. This ongoing failure is gravely concerning about their financial management skills,” he said.
MacKay said his party (DA) will further ask for updates on their debts and cash flow, urging Sakie Mokoena, MEC for Cogta, to outline actions if they fail to comply and will also request a repayment plan from the defaulting municipalities.
MacKay stressed that the inability of the authorities to manage well finances is threatening basic services such as water, sanitation, and electricity as well as livelihood of the workers.
“When municipalities fail to properly handle employee contributions such as pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) and Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), it is not only illegal but also harms employee morale and risks cutting off essential services.”
He referenced non-payment of employees to the following municipalities: Mohokare, Mafube and Masilonyana. “Some employees have not received their full pay, leading to ‘downed tools’ and ‘stay-aways,’ as essential services come to a halt. Communities should not have to bear the burden of mismanaged funds,” he said.
“The ANC-run municipalities keep swapping out incompetent municipal managers, hoping for change that never comes,” said MacKay.
He said in terms of section 216 (2) of the Constitution, the Treasury may stop the transfer of funds to an organ of state if that organ of state commits a serious or persistent material breach.
“They must show proof of payment within seven days of a notification, or they will lose some of their Local Government Equitable Share (LGES) funding. Only a portion of this funding will be released to cover current water accounts,” said MacKay.
Chronic failure of municipal authorities was again laid bare during a joint Parliamentary two-day oversight held on 24 and 25 July in Bloemfontein. Members of the Cogta Portfolio Committee, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) and the Standing Committee on Appropriations, were exposed to unabated non-compliance and disregard of governance by authorities of municipalities in the province.
Municipalities in the Free State have been flagged as the worst-performing in South Africa, with 16 municipalities having unfunded budgets and exceeding R4,2 billion in unauthorised expenditure. They hold records of repeated disclaimer audit opinions and disregards to submit financial statements on time.
Arising from the latest Parliamentary fact-finding meeting, FS premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae has promised Dr Zweli Mkhize, chairperson of the committee, consequences against authorities of kaput municipalities and to root out the rot.
Letsoha-Mathae said that the mayors, municipal managers and speakers of the municipalities will be expected to account to the executive council. “People are receiving salaries with nothing to show for it, and we cannot be expected to keep quiet,” she said.
“For the longest time, some people leading our municipalities have done so with arrogance because they were not held to account − and they had little regard for our communities. Their arrogance knew no bounds and as a result, services stalled, and the quality of life took a fall,” said Letsoha-Mathae.
