Free State municipalities unable to pay salaries

ActionSA in the Free State has raised its concerns over the dire financial state of six municipalities in the province who are not able to pay its employees salaries.

The embattled municipalities are the Tokologo, Masilonyane, Mohokare, Kopanong, Mantsopa and Mafube Municipalities.

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ALLEGATIONS OF CORRUPTION AND MALADMINISTRATION IN THE FREE STATE

ActionSA’s provincial chairperson Patricia Kopane alleges that poor leadership, corruption and financial mismanagement has lead to the failure of the entities.

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In the Auditor General’s report for the end of the last financial year, none of the six municipalities (also none in the Free State) received a clean audit for the sixth consecutive year.

“The consequences of this complete failure have resulted in numerous municipal worker protests due to the frustration of non-payment”, says Kopane.

According to ActionSA, service delivery has been severly affected in the embattled municipalities.

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“Residents face the repercussions of unpaid salaries, leading to the halt of third-party payments and the suffering of basic services. Water scarcity, mounting litter, and unattended sewage issues contribute to the worrying inevitability of a complete collapse of service delivery”, she says.

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SECTION 139(5) OF THE CONSTITUTION

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Kopane has accused MEC’s is the province of remaining silent on the matter saying that Section 139(5) of the Constitution and Municipal Finances Act could have been invoked, placing them under administration.

According to Section 139 (1), (4) and (5): Empowers the provincial executive to intervene in a municipality if:

• A municipality cannot or does not fulfil an obligation in terms of the Constitution or legislation to approve a budget or any revenue-raising measures necessary to give effect to the budget.
• A municipality, because of a crisis in its financial affairs, is in serious or persistent material breach of its obligations to provide basic services or to meet its financial commitments or admits that it is unable to meet its obligations or financial commitments.