The municipal spokesperson, Archie Babeile, confirmed to OFM News that the nonpayment of municipal employees has led to protesting workers setting alight a garage behind the municipal office and also dumping trash inside the council chamber. He says part of the problem is that the municipality is heavily reliant on funds allocated to them by the National Government in its fiscal allocation. The protest further escalated to the streets where they burned tyres. Babeile adds that the municipality meant to pay its employees by Friday last week but due to the delay in the intervention from the provincial government the efforts to pay them failed.

He adds that the municipality has been asked for an intervention from the Department of Local Government, Provincial Treasury and the Office of the Premier, Job Mokgoro. He also adds they have been in talks with different union representatives, including the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (IMATU) and other union leaders. OFM News previously reported that municipalities and its entities in the province, many of those cash-strapped, will be subjected to financial scrutiny by the Auditor-General (AGSA), Kimi Makwetu, and Chief Financial Officers from municipalities after they submitted the financial records for auditing in August 2019. The provincial Treasury Department spokesperson, Kesalopa Gill, said these submissions must fairly present the state of affairs of the municipality or entity. Gill said the municipalities’ and their entities’ performance budget, management of revenue, expenditure, assets, and liabilities, amongst others, will be reviewed by the AG.

OFM News