Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Roy Jankielsohn MPL, as well as a letter sent to the Premier and MEC
A letter to employees and councillors in Mafube Municipality indicating that they may not be receiving salaries from December to the end of February is indicative of administrative dysfunctionality and financial mismanagement in Free State municipalities and the provincial government.
Years of cadre deployment have stripped provincial and local governments of skills, and no consequence management has been undertaken to deal with poor financial audits, corruption, deteriorating infrastructure and lack of basic services.
Mafube Municipality has been under administration for several years without improvement, as evidenced by these letters. The provincial sphere of government who place municipalities under administration have a responsibility to not only improve the administration of the municipality, but also ensure that salaries are paid and basic services are delivered.
The only reliable service in the municipality is the solar-generated electricity supplied to certain areas of the municipality by Rural Maintenance. In most instances, municipalities are in debt to Eskom with constant threats of electricity cuts since money collected from residents is not paid over to Eskom.
The DA in the Free State has advocated for provincial interventions under the following conditions:
- Skilled teams of experts with the necessary management, financial and technical skills are deployed instead of an administrator.
- That intervention teams have clearly defined and deliverable mandates with time frames for the implementation thereof.
- That skills audits and transfers are carried out within these time frames.
Municipal employees in Mafube cannot be expected to work without salaries, and residents need to know what, if any, services they can expect over the three months without staff. Furthermore, residents will be left to their own devices and will seek other sources to deliver basic services, as many other communities are already doing in the Free State.
In this respect, private institutions and companies such as Rural Maintenance would be well placed to carry out such tasks.
It is sadly indicative of an uncaring government that allows this situation to take place, especially over the Christmas season.