By Eric Motloung | DA Caucus Whip Dihlabeng Local Municipality
Note to editors: Please find attached English and Sesotho soundbites by Cllr Eric Motloung and Afrikaans soundbite by Cllr Estie Senekal
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will pressure the Municipal Public Accounts Committee to investigate and recommend punitive action against those responsible for financial mismanagement in Dihlabeng Local Municipality. Despite years of poor audits, the ANC-led administration continues to fail residents.
At its first council sitting of the year, the municipality learnt from the Auditor-General that its audit opinion had not improved for four consecutive financial years.
The latest qualified opinion with findings highlights:
- No evidence of measures taken to improve performance against targets.
- Failure to compare actual performance with prior years.
- Reported achievements are inconsistent with planned targets.
While only 53% of service delivery and infrastructure targets were met, 90% of the budget was spent—raising concerns about corruption and maladministration.
Key financial failures include:
- Unauthorised expenditure: R287.2 million.
- Irregular expenditure: R165.36 million, including:
- Procurement without competitive bidding: R10.89 million.
- Non-compliance with SCM processes: R119.6 million.
- Employee-related non-compliance: R34.9 million.
- Fruitless and wasteful expenditure: R90.17 million.
- Underspending of MIG funds: R19.5 million unspent from the previous year.
These ongoing financial failures, regardless of new appointments in key positions, prove that under the ANC’s administration, financial mismanagement has become the norm. Without aggressive oversight, service delivery will continue to deteriorate, and economic growth will be stifled.
The DA will continue to expose mismanagement and fight for accountability. As local government elections approach, voters must demand leadership that prioritises service delivery and responsible financial governance.