This is according to the newly-established ANC Interim Provincial Committee (IPC) spokesperson, Kenny Morolong. He has also dismissed reports that the ANC is looking into dissolving some of the municipalities that are under the provincial government’s care of section 139. He adds that the African National Congress does not possess powers to dissolve these municipalities but he, however, says that the ANC has the responsibility to supervise and direct the work of provincial and local government.

Morolong added that the ANC IPC is also attending to a wide variety of issues affecting these municipalities that are often seen as a challenge to service delivery. OFM News recently reported that out of 22 municipalities, of which 16 confirmed attendance, only 7 showed up to a Chief Financial Officers (CFO) forum, organised by the Provincial Treasury’s Municipal Finance Management (MFM) Programme. This left a bitter taste in the MEC for Finance Motlalepula Rosho’s mouth. She said their no-show affirmed the Auditor-General (AG) Kimi Makwetu’s local government audit report, which is critical of the culture of non-commitment and lack of consequence management.

Morolong, however, says there is a wide range of issues the ANC IPC would not want to comment on for now because it would seem as if they are encroaching where they should not. He adds that the party will soon pronounce itself on municipalities such as Madibeng, Mamusa, and Matlosana, which he says are part of the IPC assessment.

OFM News previously reported that none of the 22 municipalities in the province received a clean audit and that some municipalities in the province are part of the 74% of municipalities that did not adequately follow up allegations of financial and supply chain management misconduct and fraud. The AG earlier revealed that irregular expenditure nationwide was down from R29.7 billion in 2016/17 to R25.2 billion in 2017/18. He added that clean audits were down from 14% in 2016/17, to 8% in 2017/18 with only 18 of 257 municipalities achieving clean audits consistently.

OFM News