The Freedom Front Plus, EFF and DA members says the Auditor-General (AG) rightly pointed out that there are no right hands on the till when he released his latest Audit Outcomes.

Reacting to the department's over R400 million budget tabled by MEC Sam Mashinini on behalf of Thembeni Nxangisa who is in quarantine, the parties said the department urgently needs to address service delivery issues in the province.

Whilst the Freedom Front Plus lambasted the department over what they called mismanagement of funds and service delivery that is none existent, the EFF outright said "municipalities in Free State are leaderless".

The party's Mahlomola Majake during a virtual sitting told members of the provincial legislature that all municipalities in the province were given a red card by the AG because consequence management is non-existent.

He said this points to incompetency from those in offices of power.

"If we are to turn arround municipalities we must allow them to report political interference without any fear, and put an end to nepotism and cadre deployment," he said.

He further pointed out to how interventions by the provincial government are continuously failing to yield positive results as municipalities that are under administration are still regressing.

The DA' Leona Kleynhans added that lack of municipal infrastructure development and maintenance, and the lack of water supply to communities as the number of Covid-19 cases surge, are other major causes of concern.

The parties have appealed to the department to "close tender taps" and place the needs of residents at the forefront.

OFM News