Vuyisile Ngesi from premier Job Mokgoro’s office, says the will not be commenting on the matter.

During his State of the Province Address (SOPA) in the Provincial Legislature this year Mokgoro promised to deal with fraud, corruption and the issues of none compliance by various municipalities in the province, most of which are in dire financial stress. In return, Mokgoro placed 15 out of 22 municipalities under administration due to a number of factors, including the mismanagement of funds, maladministration and councillors neglecting their legislative duties. The Provincial Department of Treasury spokesperson, Kesalopa Gill, says this comes after these municipalities adopted unfunded budgets and failed to comply with directives from National and Provincial Treasury.

Gill further said this adoption of the unfunded budget further transgressed the provisions of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA). However, Gill said because the 2018/19 MFMA Audit process by Makwetu has not yet been concluded, these measures cannot be linked to his report. She further says the Provincial Treasury is continuing with engagements with municipalities to ensure compliance and as soon as all outstanding issues have been addressed by the municipalities, arrangements will be made for the release of the equitable share.

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