With some Central SA premiers already cutting costs and promises of growth and service delivery high on their agendas, all eyes will be on Ramaphosa and how he plans to deal with rampant corruption and maladministration. These issues have forced numerous municipalities and provincial departments to be placed under administration.

This after at least ten municipalities in the North West have been put under administration and assets were forfeited at the Maluti-A-Phufung Municipality in the Free State for failing to keep up with its rife debt of millions of rands owed to the power utility Eskom.

Ramaphosa’s sixth administration might encourage Premier Zamani Saul in the Northern Cape who has already put tough stringent measures in place to cut costs in his municipalities. Ramaphosa’s biggest challenges would include how to create employment, and to implement policies to keep municipalities financially stable to deal with adequate service delivery mostly to poor people.

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa’s second Sona in 2019 comes as the country eagerly awaits AG Kimi Makwetu’s report on local governments in July 2019. He is expected to release the financial audit outcomes of municipalities for the 2017/18 fiscal year. His report will be released in the same month as the new Municipal Cost Containment Measures are set to take effect.

Earlier, in efforts to cut down on wasteful expenditure at local government, the Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni, in consultation with Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, put in a set of new regulations set to take effect on 1 July.

According to the new regulations, municipalities in the country will no longer be allowed to spend municipal funds on alcohol, catering for internal meetings only attended by officials, on procurement for luxury vehicles and on the appointment of consultants to perform municipal functions, amongst others. OFM News previously reported that the newly appointed Finance MEC in the province, Gadija Brown, said turning around financially burdened municipalities will not happen overnight, it’s a process. 

Brown revealed in a briefing, marking her first ten days in office, that Provincial Treasury has been engaging with four struggling municipalities in the province, namely the Masilonyana, Kopanong, Mafube, and Mohokare Local Municipalities to assist them in recovering from their many challenges.

OFM News