Five days without water supply, and two days without electricity, but the Mantsopa Local Municipality acting Municipal Manager, Motselisi Lesoetsa, has organized a party for all staff members under the label of “organisational wellness.” In a memorandum released earlier this week, the MM has given all administration staff the day off to attend a fun walk and lunch.
As ‘fun’ is being had by the municipality;
- The collection rate is lower than the matric pass mark,
- R260 million is still owed to Eskom,
- The road infrastructure is dilapidated,
- The 2021/22 Annual Financial Statements were not submitted to the Auditor General,
- The municipality has an R11 million outstanding account with the Auditor General,
- Millions of Rand still missing due to overpayment of contractors,
- And for five days residents haven’t been able to flush their toilets, bath or drink clean water.
In accordance with good governance, the administration should have incorporated their fun walk by visiting strategic points in communities that have not received municipal bills for years. The municipality could have set up information tables to address billing questions, inform the community about solutions and spend valuable time promoting the well-being of the community.
Once the day was done, the administration staff could have walked back to the offices and corrected the billing mistakes, in so doing adding value to the event. The DA believes in ‘organisational wellness’ but not at the expense of the community.