The municipality continues to face serious financial challenges, including massive unfunded budgets and mounting debt. Its liabilities include approximately R4 billion owed to Eskom and R3 billion to Midvaal, while unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure has reportedly exceeded R10.8 billion.

Speaking to OFM News, DA caucus leader in Matlosana, Gerhard Strydom, said the municipality had been run into the ground over the years, with residents continuing to experience poor service delivery despite repeated election promises.

“Since 1994, the municipality went down, all the way. There were promises, each and every election there’s promises of we going to change this, we going to change that; 32 years later we (are) still busy with the same problems. It just became worse to such an extent that if you drive to Matlosana you struggle to find one road without a pothole, sewage is running in the streets, services are not delivered as they should be.”

EFF mayoral candidate in Matlosana and North West provincial secretary Papiki Babuile. Photo: Kekeletso Mosebetsi

Strydom said the DA already had a programme in place to address the municipality’s challenges should the party come into power following the local government elections on Wednesday (4/10).

He added the party would deal with coalition arrangements at provincial or national level should the need arise.

Meanwhile, EFF mayoral candidate in Matlosana and North West provincial secretary, Papiki Babuile, identified poor revenue collection as one of the municipality’s major challenges.

Babuile said unemployment had left many residents unable to settle their municipal accounts, resulting in substantial outstanding debt in rates and taxes.

A voting station in Klerksdorp. Photo: Kekeleto Mosebetsi

He said the EFF would consider scrapping some of the debt owed by residents if the party came into power, as part of its plans to address the financial burden on households.

On the possibility of coalition government, Babuile said the party was focused on winning the elections and was not currently considering coalition arrangements.

However, he indicated that should a hung council emerge, the EFF would be willing to engage with other political parties, excluding the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) and the DA.

OFM News/ Kekeletso Mosebetsi sm

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