MBOMBELA – “This will go a long way in dealing with the challenges faced by our municipalities,” Mthethwa explained.
This was after the second opposition party in Mpumalanga, the Democratic Alliance (DA), issued a statement on September 2 calling for Cogta MEC Mandla Msibi to dissolve the councils and appoint administrators in five Mpumalanga municipalities that for years have been failing to meet their financial responsibilities and mandates. DA’s spokesperson on Cogta, Trudie Grovè Morgan, cited the City of Mbombela, Thaba Chweu, Emalahleni and Govan Mbeki as financially non-viable municipalities in the province.
Grovè Morgan said in August 2018, at the time when Speedy Mashilo was Cogta MEC, together with Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, a financial recovery plan intervention was made for the above struggling municipalities. “These plans which were drafted dealt with both aspects of revenue streams, namely, revenue generation strategies and creditor repayment.
However, despite being adopted and implemented by local councils, the situations in Emalahleni and Govan Mbeki local municipalities worsened while being under a provincial intervention because of lack of political will. To date, Thaba Chweu, Lekwa and the City of Mbombela are not doing any better either,” she said.
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The DA said that at the end of December 2018, Emalahleni municipality owed Eskom R2,3 billion and was owed R3,8 billion by consumer debtors. “Despite being under the provincial intervention, these amounts increased substantially in the space of one year, to owing Eskom R3,5 billion and being owed R4,6 billion for services at the end of December 2019,” Grovè Morgan said.
She said Govan Mbeki Local Municipality owed Eskom R1 billion and was owed R1,4 billion for services which were provided until the end of December 2018.
This increased to owing Eskom R1,7 billion and being owed R1,96 billion for services at the end of December 2019. “It is clear that action is needed in these municipalities and that by waiting we are only worsening the financial crisis in these municipalities,” she said.
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“Local government is a regulated sphere or policy directed. Therefore, such calls must be made within the confines of the law. This will be a determining factor whether such calls can be entertained or not,” continued Mthethwa.
He went on, “What is crucial is that the financial distress that our municipalities find themselves in are due, in part, to the failure of some communities to pay for services. That is, non-payment of electricity and water. Unfortunately, the majority of our municipalities are grant dependent and payment of services is a revenue stream that must sustain them. However, if no revenue derived from the payment, then the financial position of the municipalities is affected”. He said the call for appointment of administrators may be looked at in line with Section 139 of the Constitution. “But how does it assist if the financial position of such municipalities is bad due to non-payment of services,” Mthethwa asked.
