Ummugeni Mayor Chris Pappas pickets demanding the dissolution of the ANC-EFF-run eThekwini Municipality. (Photo by Darren Stewart/Gallo Images, Getty Images)
The KwaZulu-Natal Democratic Alliance (DA) has condemned Premier Nomsa Dube Ncube and Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Bongiwe Sithole Moloi over comments made at the provincial government lekgotla. DA-led Ummugeni City finances.
DA KZN spokesperson for Cogta, Martin Meyer, said the focus on Ummugeni Municipality's finances exposed “the African National Congress' (ANC) double standards when it comes to oversight and accountability”.
The DA said it was not surprised by the state government's reaction to the recent Auditor General's (AG) report, which “weapons Cogta rather than creating a much-needed service delivery sector”. He said that this symbolizes the continued focus on
Mr Meyer said the party was ready and able to explain the AG's findings to Mr Sihor Moloi.
“Ironically, the MEC and his cabinet are collapsing over the R2.4-billion fraudulent spending bill, Msunduzi’s R70-million wasteful spending bill, or Umgungundlovu’s R256-million fraudulent spending bill. This irony is not lost on the DA as it pays little attention to the ANC-run eThekwini Metro expenditure.”
The premier said the state Treasury and Cogta had been directed to investigate Ummugeni after “concerns” about the city's finances.
At last month's Ummugeni full council meeting, the AG report revealed that the municipality had made huge amounts of irregular expenditure, with expenditures of just over R100 million relating to non-cash items in the current financial year 2022/2023. of which R853,7 million was disbursed.
Ummugeni also had a deficit of R83.65 million.
Speaking at the opening of the KwaZulu-Natal Lekgotla Cabinet on Friday, Dube-Ncube said the executive committee had expressed serious concerns about Umgeni Municipality's financial situation at a recent meeting.
“Despite the municipality positioning itself as a model of excellence, the AG's report paints a bleak picture of how its executive committee has managed the municipality. [municipality] and failed to carry out prudent financial management and comply with the principles of the Local Finance Management Act, the Local Systems Act and other relevant laws,” Dube Ncube said.
Dube-Ncube said the AG's findings were “not just an administrative misdemeanor, but a complete breakdown of the system, which is a huge risk for such a small municipality.”
He said the council then resolved that MECs Treasurer Peggy Nkonyeni and Sihor Moloi needed to intervene urgently to understand the scale of the municipality's challenges and act accordingly. Stated.
“As we begin this State Executive Council Lekgotla, our first priority was to review the State’s fiscal position in 2023/24. We also considered budget cuts.
“The Executive Committee expressed concern about the financial health of some municipalities in the state.
“We had to intervene in some municipalities through various laws and constitutions,” Dube Ncube said.
This article first appeared in The Witness.