HIGHVELD – Residents have voiced their lack of confidence in the Govan Mbeki Municipality and suggested that the municipality is on the verge of collapsing.
The locals said the debts, amounting to over a billion rand, and the constant deteriorating of service delivery, are enough evidence that the Council is going down the drain.
They claimed that this is due to the lack of competence of the current leadership and the infighting of the ANC in the area.
They also said the municipality has scared away investors and other possible business owners.
According to them, daily electricity disruptions and the recent reduced water supply cut-offs confirm that the municipality is failing.
Opposition parties agreed with them and alleged that there is no recovery strategy at this stage.
Premier Refilwe Mtshweni recently announced that the provincial government will intervene according to Section 139 (1) (a) of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA)
This came after they were one of the five municipalities found to be defaulting on payments to their creditors.
Their actual current expenditure was also found to be exceeding their actual current revenue, and they also incurred an operating deficit in recent financial years.
This failure has impacted on their ability to procure goods and services, as well as providing much-needed services to communities.
Mr Sibusiso Hlolweni, president of Sakhisizwe Progressive Movement (Sapromo) said this will not help the municipality and that Ms Mtshweni’s intervention is overdue.
According to Mr Hloweni, Ms Mtshweni cannot continue to make empty promises as she allegedly failed to fulfill her promises in the past.
“She promised a forensic investigation and its report.
“This municipality is a time-ticking bomb and nothing can change until the current leadership is removed.
“The current leadership, including Ms Thandi Ngxonono, executive mayor, do not have the best interests of the community at heart, but are just enriching themselves.”
He also said his party will propose that the council establish an ad hoc committee that will monitor municipal transactions and remove the mayor from her position through a motion of no confidence.
The Economic Freedom Fighters agreed that the municipality is failing dismally.
Mr Thabiso Mofokeng, EFF councillor, said the mayor and her mayoral committee are incompetent and dictatorial.
“They do not consult with people but make improper decision.
“They bought vans instead of trucks for waste collection
“The mayor must be removed and qualified and competent people be appointed.
One of the local ANC members and municipal official in the office of the speaker, Mr Jabu Zwane, took to social media to complain about the state of the municipality.
In his Facebook-post of Friday, 9 November at 1.30pm, he said the fact that he is an ANC member and municipal official cannot stop him from raising his political views and concerns about service delivery in the area.
“The institution is financially distressed and without visionary leadership.
“The now glorified institution (GMM) has failed on numerous attempts to appoint an accounting officer for the institution, which led to it to be a Hollywood, that is, acting accounting officers were appointed.
“One wonders why it has taken so long for the accounting officer to be appointed?
“Well my perspective is that everyone wanted an appointee that can be easily manipulated, micro-managed and ordered around.”.
The delay in the appointment of the accounting officer had dire consequences in particular as far as service delivery is concerned.
“Service delivery deteriorated during that period to a point where it was unbearable for residents to tolerate which led them to take to the streets.”
According Mr Zwane, he is unapologetic for his sentiments, statuses and/or comments he made and is still to make, because those are his genuine views that are not sponsored by any person like many of the trumpet blowers purport it to be.
Ms Ciska Botha, DA caucus leader, said the financial status of the municipality is no secret to its residents, who are paying for services, but not seeing a return on their investment.
She also said service delivery declines by the day, ill-maintained infrastructure deteriorates, departments are not able to keep up with the demand of consumer services and the 2018/19 budget is clearly not making ends meet.
“The Eskom and Rand Water debt has collectively accumulated to more than R1-billion. The municipality being one of two of the highest debtors to these service providers in Mpumalanga.
“Attendance at these meetings were also at its worst and it appears the reason is that residents are simply no longer believing in the intervention strategies and false hopes that the ANC presents to the community.”
“The result is that the municipality now finds itself in a position it cannot escape without destroying what is left of it in the run-up to the 2019 national and provincial elections.”
