Limpopo premier Stan Mathabatha, centre, with newly appointed MECs, Thandi Moraka, left, and Basikopo Makamu, July 2018. Picture supplied by Limpopo ANC
Democratic Alliance in Tzaneen (DA) said they would request cooperate governance MEC Basikopo Makamu to start investigating the Greater Tzaneen Municipality after it spent over R259 million on legal fees between 2014-2020.
“The DA urges MEC Makamu to establish the investigation and hold all Section 56 and 57 managers accountable for their roll in this matter.
“It is pertinent that disciplinary action be taken against all those who were responsible for money being wasted. Finally, we demand that money be recouped from individuals who are to blame for the poor decisions which resulted in legal action.”
DA said in a statement on Thursday that the money was used for legal fees including executions, litigation, special consultations, settlements, arbitration, disciplinary hearings, legal opinions and costs.
The party said the municipality spent over R175 million of their budget to pay legal fees between 2014-2020 financial years according to the 2019/2020 Legal Expenditure Report.
They said the report indicated the municipality overspent with the legal fees and settlements of cases.
“The report confirms that the amount of R84.3 million was spent on legal settlements while the residents continue to suffer due to lack of services in their villages,” the party said.
DA said the settlement agreements that caused the bulk of the expenditure included:
The party further claimed that the settlements were not in the municipality’s budget and the payments were made in full.
“The DA can confirm that these settlements were not budgeted for and were paid in full single payments which had an extremely negative effect on the cash flow of the municipality and therefore affected service delivery in general.
“It is clear that non-adherence to legislation and financial regulations caused the municipality to face endless litigation and arbitration which resulted in extremely expensive settlements.”
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