Speaking in reaction to Ntombela’s brief reference to the Auditor General’s 2017/18 municipal audit report in her State of the Province Address (Sopa), DA Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL), Roy Jankielsohn, criticised Ntombela for merely reciting the issues facing the province but not sharing tangible solutions to the threat.

Jankielsohn says the province needs investments urgently to expand the economy and reduce unemployment but stresses this cannot be done when a majority of the municipalities are on the brink of collapse.

The DA MPL says municipalities are where basic services take place which is an enabling environment for investment and job creation in the Free State. “Unless we fix our municipalities and have the political will and plans to fix our municipalities, there will not be investments in the Free State and our young people will continue to be unemployed”. EFF Chairperson in the province, Mandisa Makesini, echoed Jankielsohn’s sentiments, adding that the MEC of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Thembeni Ngcangisa, must provide the legislature with a report on the matter and ensure the management at municipalities are qualified.

Speaking on the “political will”, Jankielsohn spoke at length about the ruling party’s controversial decision to appoint former Mayor of Maluti-A-Phofung, Vusi Tshabalala, as the Chief Whip in the legislature and the Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (Scopa) when he is viewed as the reason why Maluti-A-Phofung is seen as “one of the worst performing municipalities in the country”, primarily due to its hefty Eskom debt, amongst other service delivery challenges.

Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu was critical of the Free State in his audit report, revealing that “the total breakdown in controls and poor leadership response towards improving accountability, capacity, and stability in municipalities were the main causes of further regressions in the Free State.”

Nine municipalities, including the only metro in the province, Mangaung, failed to submit their financial statements by the AG’s cut-off date for inclusion in the report.

OFM News