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The Maluti-A-Phofung Local Municipality MPAC has been plagued with dysfunctionality since its inception. The Democratic Alliance (DA) has noticed that the committee has failed to table any report to the council, and in the past, it has attempted to table two reports, but both were taken off the municipality's agenda at the last minute. It seldom meets quorum, members, including the chairperson do not attend meetings as regularly as they should. The chairperson focuses more on his party duties than the committee's responsibilities. Despite the Standing Rules of Orders of the municipality providing guidelines on non-attendance, the chairperson has clearly failed to lead its implementation.

The committee's main aim is to interrogate the Auditor General's reports, as stipulated in section 129 of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), but no AG reports have been interrogated since the committee's inception in the current term. This is unacceptable in a municipality with over R6 billion in Unauthorised, Irregular, Fruitless and Wasteful Expenditure, and the committee should have made it a priority. The AG, audit committees, or any other experts have never been invited to MPAC meetings.

The DA has written letters to the chairperson of MPAC and the council speaker on this issue, but both have been ignored, proving the total lack of leadership in the municipality. Therefore, the DA believes that the only way this committee can function effectively is by removing the current chairperson and appointing someone decisive with leadership skills. This motion aims to bring about this change.

The DA has put a Motion of No Confidence in the MPAC chairperson due to the committee's dysfunctionality and lack of leadership. We urge the council to take action and appoint a chairperson who can effectively lead and make the necessary changes to ensure that the committee can fulfil its responsibilities. The council must prioritize the issue, considering the magnitude of the UIFW, and work towards restoring trust in the committee's operations.

Issued by Moshe Lefuma - DA Councillor Maluti-A-Phofung Local Municipality and MPAC member