ALM pays off R197 million historical debt

Lolo Madonsela

The long-standing debt of R197 million that has seen AbaQulusi Local Municipality (ALM) staggering and limping financially has finally been cleared.
ALM has announced that the payment of this historical debt, which was incurred between 2013 and 2017, will see the municipality gradually working on building up its reserves again.
The municipality further indicated that it was working on finishing paying off the Eskom debt of R87 million, which was part of the reason for the municipality being placed under administration. The Eskom debt is currently sitting at less than R15 million and according to ALM, the plan is to finish paying off this debt by the end of this year.
According to Municipal Manager Bonga Ntanzi, ALM is now on the road to acquiring a clean audit outcome in the 2020/2021 financial year. Even though the municipality received an Unqualified Audit opinion with findings for the 2019/2020 financial year, Ntanzi was adamant that these areas of improvement were achievable through consistency, teamwork and collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
He cited that the dynamics the municipality believes will contribute greatly to achieving a clean audit include: dealing with unnecessary expenditure; reducing deviations; ensuring proper planning and execution of programmes; as well as reducing irregular expenditure.

Also read: ALM gets unqualified audit report

Speaking about the functionality of the municipality, Administrator Sibusiso Mkhize said the municipality was now performing well and he rated it above 70%. This means the municipality is now stable and can function without the oversight of the administrator.
Acting Mayor Mncedisi Maphisa acknowledged and appreciates the work done by Cogta through its interventions by bringing in an administrator who pointed the municipality in the right direction.
“First and foremost, one must highlight that the previous audit outcomes that were obtained were due to the discrepancies of the past, where the previous administration had failed to handle the financial affairs of the institution with honesty and dignity under the ANC reign. The audit outcome achieved for the 2018/2019 financial year was only the beginning of the great work we are prepared to do in restoring our municipal finances and ensuring that taxpayers’ money is spent accordingly without any corruption or maladministration,” Mayor Maphisa said.
“The intervention has, however, imposed great challenges for the institution, as it has created major administrative instability that might cause a setback for the municipality. The political instability has led to the relations between the governing party and the opposition being unfavourable, as there is a constant power struggle between the parties. However, for this audit, we are hoping for a better outcome with less findings, which will symbolise our commitment to a clean and accountable government that will always carry the best interests of the people and strive to achieve excellence at all times,” he said.
Maphisa also affirmed that the municipality was now a well-oiled machine that was moving towards absolute service delivery.
“The municipality is performing well. We are thankful to Cogta MEC Sipho Hlomuka for his intervention through the deployment of Administrator Sibusiso Mkhize; we are on an upward trajectory. At times we had challenges, as the administrator was leading with an iron fist, but through his support and that of MEC Hlomuka, we can proudly say that the municipality is heading in the right direction to carry out its core mandate of service delivery to the people, regardless of their political stance, race or creed,” he said.

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