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The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling on the Magareng Municipality to prevent a further collapse in service delivery as it edges closer towards bankruptcy.

In the past year, salaries have been paid late more than once and ward committees received late wages in September. While statutory payments are made on a quarterly basis, medical aid and pension funds are currently paid up until July 2023 with UIF still outstanding.

The financial state further affects debt repayments which sees the municipality owing R97 million to Eskom and R100 million to the Vaalharts Water utility company.

Revenue collection remains unsustainably low and is currently under 40%. The municipality has done little to improve debt collection, other than instituting punitive measures against residents staying in town, who only contribute about 10% of the total residents. The municipality has further turned off the streetlights on the N12 and N18, due to Sanral owing the municipality R2,6 million. This has left residents in the dark but done little to force Sanral’s hand at settling their debt.

The most notable impact of the financial situation is on service delivery.

Due to late payment on the fuel account, service delivery vehicles could not work. Service delivery vehicles are also not maintained and licence disks are not renewed timeously. The cherry picker has been standing for months waiting for a clutch kit to be ordered. The TLB has been inoperative due to repairs costing less than R700. Out of the two refuse trucks, only one is operational but has been standing for four weeks due to lack of hydraulic oil. The hydraulic oil was requested last year but was only ordered in July 2023, after numerous queries by the DA to the Acting Municipal Manager and the Executive Mayor.

Due to repairs not being done timeously due to lack of equipment and money, power outages caused by theft and fires, that damage Eskom infrastructure, are known to last up to a week. These challenges are in addition to the ongoing water challenges experienced due to the current water purification plant unable to supply the demand for Warrenton.

While a debt relief program has been imposed on the municipality by Provincial Treasury, it is likely to prove fruitless, as Magareng is not in a position to meet all the stringent requirements.

The DA has requested the Municipal Manager to urgently boost revenue collection, renegotiate payment agreements with its creditors and debtors and to revise its debt recovery plan with Provincial Treasury to ensure that the municipality can comply.

It is time for Magareng to go back to the basics and enforce practical solutions or face bankruptcy and the total collapse of service delivery.

Issued by Deidre Watson, Cllr - Magareng Municipality