Note to editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Linda Louwrens and Sesotho by Karabo Khakhau MP.
Moqhaka Local Municipality residents are facing mounting frustration as they enter their third month without receiving any rate accounts. This distressing situation was triggered by the municipality’s announcement of a system crash, which was later revealed to be a cyber-attack. The Democratic Alliance (DA) has learned that a case of cybercrime was reported to local authorities and the South African Police Services’ Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) for a thorough investigation.
Shockingly, it emerged during the probe that there were no data backups in place. To salvage the situation, an external firm was engaged to help retrieve the data. Although records up to April 2023 were successfully recovered, the employees are now painstakingly reconstructing data from May 2023 onwards.
The fallout from this disaster is wreaking havoc on residents, particularly those who have recently sold properties. Not only has the municipality struggled to compensate contractors, leading to a cascading effect on service delivery, but it has also resulted in a substantial backlog of tasks, including unblocking sewage, repairing water leaks, and addressing meter issues.
Despite some progress in restoration efforts, residents are still grappling with the absence of accurate accounts. The revenue collection rate, standing at a mere 80%, has compelled Moqhaka to temporarily suspend the 60/40 debt recovery programme. This measure aims to prevent penalising electricity consumers whose accounts have not yet been updated due to the ongoing crisis.
The consequences are substantial, with the municipality witnessing a grave financial hit due to dwindling revenue. Residents’ waning confidence in the municipality’s ability to provide essential services has led to reluctance in settling their municipal dues. Some individuals only make payments based on issued statements, rather than estimates.
While the community was initially notified about the situation on 13 June 2023, the municipality has since remained silent. There have been no subsequent updates or reports presented to the council or the relevant ICT portfolio. This lack of transparency prompted the DA to take action. As the Corporate Portfolio Meetings have faced repeated postponements, we will formally address the portfolio and council through a submitted letter, calling for disciplinary measures.
This series of events underscores the glaring inability of the municipality to effectively manage its day-to-day operations and even fulfil the basic task of issuing timely accounts to its residents.