Integrated Development Planning (IDP) is an approach to planning that involves the entire municipality and its residents in finding the best possible solutions to achieve good long-term development. Residents should know how their money (rates) has been spent and also have a say in how money is spent in the future to better everyone’s lives. With that said, many residents are not happy with the state of Vryheid and say there is absolutely no service delivery worth talking about.
With the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) roadshow conducted by the mayor last week, Vryheid AfriForum has taken the initiative and submitted a list of a few pressing issues / concerns that have been identified by the community of Vryheid.
In the document, some of the statistics of the municipality’s 2020/2021 auditing process were emphasised. For instance, it indicates that, in the previous financial year, the municipality ‘qualified’, which means the Auditor-General expressed reservations about the fair presentation of the financial statements. Furthermore, the statistics indicate that the spending on repairs and maintenance was only 1.9%, which is very low. But what does all that mean, really? It means that infrastructure must be maintained so that service delivery is not affected. This indicator looks at how much money was budgeted for repairs and maintenance, as a percentage of total fixed assets (property, plant and equipment). For every R10 spent on building/replacing infrastructure, R0.80 should be spent every year on repairs and maintenance. This translates into a ‘Repairs and Maintenance’ budget that should be 8% of the value of property, plant and equipment.
AfriForum suggests that this budget allocation should be increased to 12% for the next three years to address some of the municipality’s challenges regarding service delivery in the areas of water and electricity supply, and also to address the state of the sewage treatment plant.
The statistics for ‘Fruitless and Wasteful Expenditure’ show a 32% increase. This means that there was unauthorised and irregular spending that was not budgeted for, and spending that goes against the relevant legislation and municipal policies or by-laws.
It also indicates that 67% of the income of the municipality is locally generated from residents paying for water and electricity, rates, licences and fines. 23% thereof is from property rates, and amounts to R100.7 million for the 2020/2021 financial year. Municipalities are supposed to be able to support themselves financially – to fund the services they provide from the rates paid by local residents. These include installing and maintaining streets, roads, sidewalks, lighting, and storm drainage facilities; and operating parks, recreational facilities and cemeteries. That leaves a question mark as to the current state of the town.
Another concern in the report is that there are critical posts vacant within the municipality, which possibly contributes to poor service delivery. Staff wages and salaries are at 24% of the budget, and the average normal cost is between 34 and 36% of the budget. Private contractors are sometimes needed for certain work, but they are usually more expensive than municipal staff. This should be kept to a minimum and efforts should be made to provide services in-house, where possible. This measure is normally between 2 and 5% of total operating expenditure. AbaQulusi Local Municipality contractor services stand at 13.4% in the 2020/2021 financial year. This is of grave concern to AfriForum and they have requested to see transparent tender processes.
AfriForum identified the following that should be included in the new budget:
1. Electricity network and supply challenges at Elandsberg line, Schotchill line, Zaailaagte line and Scheepersnek line that need urgent upgrades.
2. Bad state of roads in residential and industrial areas – too little to no funds are allocated for road maintenance. The lifespan of roads needs to be extended by repairing potholes. The streets are falling apart faster than they can be rebuilt. High-priority streets are President (between Mark and Suid streets) and Mark (between President and Wes Streets), and all potholes must receive immediate attention.
3. The condition of the R33 and R34 (main street) and the cleanliness of the town – AbaQulusi is one of the four main entrances into KwaZulu-Natal. The R33 / R34 is the town’s main road and should be in a good condition. The Stillwater bypass also needs urgent attention, since it carries a lot of traffic and connects local agricultural activities with the town. The cleanliness of the town should also be addressed to attract investors and tourism. AfriForum does not see any effort from the IDP to improve the above two issues.
4. Communication with the community – this concern just confirms the importance of the Community Forum.
5. Landfill site – AfriForum does a yearly audit of the municipality’s dumpsite and it fails miserably. It is not maintained properly and is unsafe to visit.
6. Water supply – the unacceptable number of non-compliance and water interruptions have an extreme impact on the town’s future and urgently need more funds to repair all the pumps. The water supply network also needs an urgent upgrade to reduce pipe bursts.
7. Sewage – this is the responsibility of the municipality and is not managed properly; they should act on behalf of the residents. There are various sites where sewage leaks into streets and rivers, especially in Bhekuzulu and Klipfontein Dam.
8. Cemeteries – poor maintenance of the cemetery. The cemetery has to be fenced for safety purposes. The municipality needs to take action regarding this issue.
9. Accounts department – the ratepayers have a huge problem with the accounts department, and it needs to be resolved. There is someone needed at the department who can take a decision and resolve a problem or fault within 30 days and not 12 to 24 months. No business can survive if the accounts department is not functioning correctly, since finance is the heart of any organisation.
Lastly, AfriForum takes note that the equipment of the company that cuts the grass is not roadworthy and this problem needs to be addressed as well.
Whether these suggestions are taken into consideration for the next financial year is yet to be seen…
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The news provided to you in this link comes to you from the editorial staff of the Vryheid Herald, a sold newspaper distributed in the Vryheid area.
