By Emily Setona
KESTELL – Maluti-a-Phofung (MAP) Council Speaker Mandlankosi Dlamini convened an ordinary council sitting at the Kestell Multipurpose hall, which saw the municipality table its Annual Report within the legal time frame after failure to do so in previous years.
Among matters discussed during the sitting was the fact that for the fifth year running the municipality and its entity MAP Water have had a disclaimer from the Auditor General (AG), which basically means that their booking is so bad that the Auditor General cannot make head or tail of the information.
According to DA councillor Alison Oates, the fact that the municipality finds itself incapable of upgrading its computer system is a major factor in this. The DA, therefore, called for the adjustment budget due to be tabled within weeks to make provision for this.
“The DA is pleased to know that the AG has found miniscule directional improvements and believes that its aggressive oversight role has influenced this. Regrettably the only way to bring real change is through voting the current Council out,” Oates said.
Also under the spotlight was the fact that since the election of the ANC-led coalition mayor, Masechaba Lakaje-Mosia in MAP three months ago, she continues to perpetuate the ANC’s legacy of failure.
“Regrettably, Lakaje has only appointed four out of the necessary 10 MMCs, according to the Municipal Structures Act 117 of 1998 (Section 60-2), for the municipality. Despite hopeful anticipation, the delay in appointing the remaining six MMCs has given opposition parties the opportunity to assert that the ANC struggles with effective governance.
“These positions are designed to provide oversight in various municipal departments, ensuring smooth service delivery. Unfortunately, the Mayor appears indifferent to this critical issue, hindering councillors from participating in portfolio committees where planning and discussion on service delivery reports take place,” the DA’s Moshe Lefuma said.
The vacant portfolios include Finance, which is responsible for managing municipal funds, particularly billing and revenue collection; Technical Infrastructure, handling electricity and roads; Corporate and Legal, managing human resources and legal matters; LED, Tourism, and Planning, focused on local economic development; Fleet and Facilities, overseeing municipal fleet and transportation, and SPLUMA and Traditional Affairs, which deals with land and relationships between traditional leadership and the municipality.
Map council sitting in Kestell.
The DA reiterated that the ANC’s return to power through coalition partners was a harbinger of failure for the people of MAP and urgently called on the Executive Mayor to swiftly make these appointments and alleviate the suffering of the community.
The Chief whip of council Moeketsi Lebesa said:
“The Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality held its council sitting and for the first time in a long while they managed to table their Annual Report within the prescribed legal time frames. However, the report raised red flags and serious concerns that require immediate attention, particularly due to Unauthorized, Irregular, Fruitless, and Wasteful expenditure (UIFW) well over R4.5 billion.”
In response, the council resolved to hold a Lekgotla, which is a gathering or meeting for discussions and decision-making, to carefully study the report and come up with remedial measures to address the issues highlighted.”
