AfriForum Vryheid has indicated to eDumbe Local Municipality (ELM) that they would like to be part of their Integrated Development Planning (IDP) implementation forum. The organisation has a few concerns they have highlighted regarding the municipality’s expenditure.
ELM showed qualified audits for 2020/21 and for the previous year (2019/2020). This means that the Auditor-General expresses reservations about the fair presentation of the financial statements. There is some departure from the Generally Recognised Accounting Practices (GRAP), but is not sufficiently serious to warrant an adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion.
ELM’s cash coverage is reported as being ‘low and getting seriously deeper into a problematic situation’. Cash coverage measures the length of time, in months, that a municipality could manage to pay for its day-to-day expenses using just its cash reserves. So, if a municipality had to rely on its cash reserves to pay all short-term bills, how long could it last? Ideally, a municipality should have at least three months’ cash cover.
Fruitless and wasteful expenditure is also marked as ‘category red and getting worse’.
AfriForum will consider an intervention application to the Department of Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) in this regard. Spending on repairs and maintenance is ‘unacceptably low and needs urgent fund allocations’ in keeping with national guidelines of 9%. Fruitless and wasteful expenditure concerns spending that was made in vain and could have been avoided had reasonable care been exercised. An example of such expenditure would include paying a deposit for a venue and not using it, thus losing the deposit.
34.6 % of ELM’s income is locally generated, whereof 16% of the total budget is from property rates – amounting to R28.3 million. AfriForum would like to remind the municipality that property rates are for non-invoiceable services and therefore the ratepayers of Paulpietersburg cannot accept poor service delivery. These non-invoiceable services include installing and maintaining streets, roads, sidewalks, lighting, and storm drainage facilities; operating parks, recreational facilities and cemeteries, etc. This shows how much of the municipality’s income is from its own activities that it bills for, and how much is paid to it by national and provincial government. Municipalities are supposed to be able to support themselves financially – to fund the services they provide from the rates paid by the local residents. A heavy reliance on outside funding is a cause for concern.
ELM staff and wages expenses are ‘acceptable’ if one assumes that all critical posts are filled, but contactor services are ‘unacceptably high’. 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, compared to the municipality’s 18.9%.
The following concerns were identified by the community of Paulpietersburg:
1. Electricity network and supply challenges;
ELM wants to develop local business and economics. To achieve this goal, the electrical supply network is key. The IDP shows an ageing electricity network, but no plans to upgrade the current network. Therefore, AfriForum requests that the electricity network receives fund allocation.
2. The bad state of roads in the residential and industrial areas.
Too few funds are allocated for road maintenance. The life-span of the roads depends on 15 yearly ‘spray and chip’ exercises and by repairing potholes. “The approximate 14km streets in eDumbe, town, and the industrial area are falling apart faster than we can rebuild them. We need to have a plan for repairing potholes to prevent the streets from falling apart completely. AfriForum suggests an urgent ‘spray and plan’ for at least 3km annually.”
Herewith is a proposal from the town residents to upgrade the street sections mentioned below, with the 2023/2024 IDP:
Residential:
1. Market Street from the highest at the bottom of town just over the Egodge Bridge, up to the middle of Moelband and President Street and the intersection at Middle and Market Street.
2. South Street between Joubert and Hoog Street.
3. High Street between Market and Smit.
4. Middle Street between Wolmarans and Smit.
5. Middle Straret between Maugh and Noord.
6. East Street between Market and Kruger.
Industrial
1. Roadarerom the R33 to Afgri silos;
2. The road from Eskrequestsline block;
3. The cleanliness of the town.
“eDumbe is one of the four main entrances into KwaZulu-Natal. One should therefore acknowledge that the R33, which is our town’s main road, should be in a good state. The cleanliness of the town, for this reason, should be well addressed. Bad roads will not attract investors and tourism. AfriForum does not see any effort from the IDP to improve the above two issues. Again, AfriForum wants to express that property rates are a contribution to chipping invoice service such as grass cutting and therefore, the residents of Paulpietersburg town do not accept the condition of the town’s gardens, parks and streets.”
4. Communication with the community
This concern just confirms the importance of a Community Forum.
5. By-laws are not implemented:
AfriForum learned from the IDP of how many by-laws are drafted but not approved. The
By-laws are an important way of income for the municipality and should be approved and gazetted.
Building plans and Special Consent procedures are not followed.
Illegal dumping is done all over town, as well as on the outskirts and in the timber plantations close to town.
Drinking in public must be banned because people are drinking alcohol all over town, resulting in fighting and littering in Voortrekker Park.
Overgrown plantations are hiding places for criminals.
6. Refuse dump site
AfriForum does a yearly audit of the eDumbe refuse dumpsite and it fails miserably. It is not registered and is an illegal operation managed by eDumbe Municipality.
7. Safety
a) Since August 2021, there was a huge spike in burglary, theft and attacks. This can be attributed to street lights not working, as 73% of all lights in town are out of order. This has since changed and gratitude is offered to the Electrical Department for fixing the lights and for supplying some new installed lights in areas where previously no lights had been installed. Street lights are very important in the fight against crime.
b) Electrical substations and uncovered meters – some of these substations have broken doors or these doors are standing open because the locking mechanisms are broken. These are becoming a major safety hazard and must be fixed before there is an accident.
8. Industrial area
a) The industrial area has been badly neglected over the last few years. The roads are not driveable anymore and the street lights are not functioning, the substations are falling apart, and the grass has not been cut by the contractor. AfriForum cut the grass in the industrial area in 2021. After the last municipal election, it was cut once by the contractor.
b) The farmers cannot use the road to the silo and the timber site anymore. They had to create their own road. They are also ratepayers and if they cannot deliver timber and maize to the storage area, they will move to the next town.
9. ZDM Water Point
ZDM erected a new water collection point in the industrial area to relieve the drawing of water out of the tankers that are battling to get to the water point along the bad entry road to the industrial area and especially the part in front of Dumbe Grain.
10. Public toilets
Residents complain about the public relieving themselves against every wall and every tree, all over Voortrekker Park. On the other hand, where must these people go if we have no public toilets available in town? We have a toilet building in Voortrekker Park which was upgraded not long ago and we have toilets at the taxi rank which also have been upgraded for a huge amount of money. These two facilities in the town centre are not functioning very well and the main reason is that there are not people on duty when they are open. If you want a toilet to function correctly, you need a person in charge constantly. The municipality must give these toilets to a private operator and include the toilets at the dam. The municipality erected these toilets and we cannot let them go down the drain.
11. Sewage
Although sewage is not the responsibility of eDumbe Municipality, if it is not managed properly by ZDM, eDumbe Municipality must act on behalf of the residents. We have various sites where sewage is dumped into the streets: Church Street from Spar, DR Sibeko, Smit Street (caused by building plans and special consent procedures not followed) – one sewer point for 15 rooms, eDumbe Municipality and President Street. ZDM must contact the owners and instruct them to rectify the incorrect sewage system on their property and if no response to the request is given, they must be prosecuted. They are causing a health problem in our town.
12. Accounts department
The ratepayers have a huge problem with the accounts department and it needs to be resolved. Someone at the accounts department is needed who can make 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, as finance is the heart of any organisation.
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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.
