Sol Plaatje executive mayor Kagisho Sonyoni said the municipality has managed to recover R100 million over the past two weeks from provincial government, businesses and households that were not paying for electricity.
THE SOL Plaatje executive mayor, Kagisho Sonyoni, said that the municipality has managed to recover R100 million over the past two weeks from provincial government, businesses and households that were not paying for electricity.
Delivering the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) budget earlier this week, Sonyoni stated that the municipality was on the brink of bankruptcy and drastic measures had to be taken to recover outstanding debts.
He added that the budget amounted to R55.7 million.
“To break even the municipality needs an 85 percent collection rate and to build reserves it needs more than a 95 percent collection rate.”
Sonyoni stated that the municipality provided water, electricity, sanitation and refuse services to 70,000 households every month.
“The city and broader municipality need a major structural redesign. We are besieged by crime, grime, non-enforcement and a general decline in good citizenship. Our non-domestic households are perennial non-payers while the expectation to be serviced remains at an all-time high. The majority of businesses are relocating to the malls. Interventions through an urban network strategy will be employed within the next five years to reinvent the CBD.”
He acknowledged the need to improve service delivery, fix potholes, clean the city, rid the municipality of corruption, attract investment, stimulate economic development and fix dilapidated infrastructure.
DA councillor Elize Niemann did not approve the IDP as she pointed out that the Diamonds and Dorings Festival appeared on the budget while the event was supposed to be scrapped as a cost-saving measure.
She also raised her eyebrows over a deviation that was approved to appoint a service provider to print and compile the IDP.
“It was indicated that hard copies of the document would be distributed. There are neither amounts of years nor financial amounts for projects that do not relate to the needs of the communities. The document must be referred back for rectification for any legal implications.”
DA councillor Chris Whittaker indicated that R500,000 was wasted on appointing a private consultant to prepare the IDP while the municipality employs its own IDP manager.
“The IDP, as it stands, is a farce. It also provides a screen for the misappropriation of funds away from IDP projects.
“The IDP is already overdue due to the excuse of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequently the appointment of a new municipal manager, who requested an extension from Provincial Treasury and the Department of Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs.
“This is no fault of the DA and we will not buckle under pressure from the municipality to approve the final draft IDP before the end of the month.”
ACDP councillor Roddy Loff also did not approve the budget due to a lack of public participation, vision, direction and clarity.
“The IDP does not speak to the needs of residents to address current challenges. The IDP is underfunded and over-budgeted.”
He believed that tenders should not be outsourced given the high unemployment levels.
“How will the museum in Galeshewe and the return of the Diamond and Dorings Festival, which is a luxury, benefit service delivery?”
Loff noted that 32 councillors from the ANC and GOOD supported the budget while the DA abstained from voting.
“Ten councillors were absent due to various reasons while 20 councillors from the DA, EFF, FF+, Sol Plaatje Service Delivery Forum (SPSDF) and ACDP voted ‘no’.”
FF+ councillor Kobus van den Berg was concerned that the IDP budget was skewed, where spending trends would result in a R2.7 million shortfall.
“There must be solid consequence management.”
SPSDF councillor Dennis Pienaar pointed out that foreigners were taking ownership of communities which, in turn, was impacting on the economy.
