Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Leona Kleynhans and Sesotho soundbite by Cllr Eric Motloung
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will submit formal amendments to the draft budget and table proposals in Council to reprioritise spending towards core service delivery functions, while opposing the adoption of the budget in its current form.
After the tabling of the Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality budget on 31 March, a DA analysis shows that the municipality is effectively providing sheltered employment for councillors and a bloated staff complement, while failing to deliver on its core functions.
Of the total R172.5 million available, 74.7% is allocated to employee and councillor costs, including extras such as bursaries, internal catering and refreshments, accommodation, travel, travel agents and visas. Executive Mayor’s events account for 2.75% of the available funds, while only 22.65% is directed towards administration, operations and capital projects, much of which relates to the administration of grant funding.
Amid this, the Executive Mayor tabled a proposed organogram including positions for a Chief Whip and additional staff, despite the municipality not qualifying for such posts. No skills audit has been conducted, despite a Council resolution requiring it, and no superfluous positions have been cut. The Kestell Water Testing Laboratory is not a core function of a district municipality, is neither accredited nor functional, yet remains fully staffed at a cost of at least R6.5 million annually. This is despite Environmental Health Practitioners already conducting water sampling, which is tested at accredited laboratories at minimal cost.
The critical core functions of a district municipality include local economic and tourism development, environmental health services, disaster management, fire-fighting services, Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) coordination, and integrated development planning for the district as a whole.
However, it is deeply concerning that, of all these essential functions, only the Environmental Health Department is currently operating to any meaningful extent, leaving critical service delivery gaps that directly affect communities and voters.
The DA will again submit a proposal that all funding allocated to the non-functional Water Testing Laboratory be redirected to a fully operational Disaster Management Centre with fire-fighting capacity, capable of assisting municipalities with risk assessments and disaster preparedness.
The DA further proposes:
- Bloated political staffing linked to the Executive Mayor and MMCs must be reduced, and
- a proper skills audit must be conducted,
- Proper training and capacity building of EPWP workers must also be prioritised,
- the implementation of a zero-based budgeting approach, where each line item is assessed against its relevance to core municipal functions.
Simply increasing budget items year-on-year without justification is unsustainable.
The time for an ineffective district structure that prioritises employment over service delivery is over. Unless these necessary changes are incorporated into the draft budget, the DA will not support its adoption.