The Ditsobotla municipal offices. Picture: Steven Tau
Parliament is being requested to intervene in one of the worst historically performing municipalities in the province.
The Auditor General of South Africa’s Consolidated General Report on Local Government Audit Outcomes highlighted several areas of concern across the country.
Citing a “chaotic” situation, the Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) has requested the assistance of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa in dealing with the Ditsobotla Local Municipality.
In addition to the North West province registering zero clean audits for the past two years, municipalities in the province have racked up billions in irregular expenditure.
The Auditor General’s (AG) report stated that the North West’s 20 municipalities had a total of 53 material irregularities that amounted to R3.45 billion in wasted public funds.
“The high levels of annual irregular expenditure have resulted in a closing balance of R31,90 billion that has not been dealt with or investigated,” stated the AG’s report.
The extent of the Ditsobotla damage has not been confirmed, as the municipality serving Lichtenburg and Coligny has not submitted financial statements for the past two years.
Tellingly, Ditsobotla still has outstanding remedial action relating to irregularities in their 2019/20 records that had caused “substantial harm to the municipality”.
“There is no sign of effective service delivery. Water and power outages are the order of the day, while street and road infrastructure crumbles away,” stated VF Plus’ North West leader Michal Groenewald.
As a member of the provincial legislature, Groenewald noted a “pervasive culture of lawlessness” was rife.
The AG’s report supports this, revealing that just over R300 million was lost due to a lack of preventative maintenance, theft and vandalism to water infrastructure.
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In a particularly dry province reliant on the agriculture and mining sectors, that loss accounted for roughly 35% of the province’s treated water.
Additionally, North West municipalities left R160.78 million in capital grants allocated for water infrastructure unspent.
To compile their collective financial reports, North West’s leaders spent R214 million on consultants due to “vacancies and a lack of skills”.
In calling on COGTA to step in, Groenewald believed it would demonstrate the government of national unity’s (GNU) commitment to repairing the nation.
In a proposal submitted by VF Plus, the party suggested an inter-ministerial intervention team with cabinet support was needed to remedy the situation.
“The residents of the greater Ditsobotla municipal area should not be left at the mercy of corrupt and criminal elements who are destroying the community and local economy,” stated Groenewald.
However, the AG’s report urged those at the top to lead by example.
“While we continue to socialise and spotlight the need for accountability at council level, it remains the responsibility of provincial leadership to set the tone for unwavering compliance and credible reporting,” concluded the AG’s report.
NOW READ: Concern about continuing decline of municipalities – AG report
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