Motlalepula Rosho is faced with a predicament of four municipalities that had illegally spent millions of the taxpayer’s money and transgressed the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFA) by investing a whopping R314 million with the controversial VBS Mutual Bank. Rosho will also be expected to give full details on the ongoing forensic investigations into ten municipalities as it was announced by premier Job Mokgoro during his State of the Province Address (Sopa) last week.

OFM News previously reported that premier Mokgoro said the failure by these 22 municipalities across the province to achieve a clean audit opinion from the Auditor-General (AG), Kimi Makwetu, was a serious indictment of the state of the provincial government. According to Makwetu, a total of 74% of the municipalities across the county did not adequately follow up allegations of financial and supply chain management misconduct and fraud.

Rosho is the former MEC for the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) when the Mayoral Executive Committee (Exco) took a decision to place 15 municipalities across the province under administration for failing to render basic service delivery due to corruption and maladministration. She will be forced to clarify her department’s terms to regulate financial management in the municipalities and how she plans on ensuring that all revenue, expenditure, assets, and liabilities are managed efficiently and effectively aligned with the aspirations of the Exco.

This is to prevent further irregular and unauthorised expenditure as the forensic report of Sekela Xabanisa CA Inc (SKX), commissioned by premier Mokgoro, revealed that the Madibeng Local Municipality invested R31 million of its conditional grants. The Mahikeng Local Municipality invested R83 million, of which R23 million was from the municipal infrastructure grant and R60 million from the municipal equitable share. This was an overpayment from the national department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs.

The Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality invested R150 million, of which R100 million was from the regional infrastructure grant, R25 million from the equitable share-free basic services grant and R25 million from the building fund. The Moretele Local Municipality invested R50 million from the 2017/18 water services infrastructure grant. Meanwhile, the AG said 45% of the municipalities did not have all the required mechanisms for reporting and investigating transgressions or possible fraud.

OFM News