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Masilonyana Local Municipality cannot pay salaries again, according to a letter that the Acting Municipal Manager, Sipho Thomas, sent out on 26 October 2022. According to the same letter, salaries will only be paid within 3 weeks.

Earlier this year, employees went on strike after municipal workers were not paid and offered R1000 food vouchers from local supermarkets instead. Previously the municipality did not pay salaries for May and June and was only paid late in July.

The municipality under the ANC is unable to adequately manage the municipal finances and particularly its debt collections, which is currently at an estimated 20%. In addition, financial mismanagement has been rife with the municipality failing to submit its financial statements to the Auditor General since 2017.

The failure to pay salaries could result in a repeat strike action by the staff and service delivery will come to a stand-still as a result. Why should the residents of Masilonyana and the municipal staff suffer due to the ANC’s inability to govern?

The DA will call for a full-scale and independent forensic audit of the municipality’s finance so that the root cause of its financial woes can be exposed once and for all. As stated in Section 139 of the Constitution; “When a municipality cannot or does not fulfil an executive obligation in terms of the Constitution or legislation, the relevant provincial executive may intervene by taking any appropriate steps to ensure fulfilment of that obligation.” Therefore, we will request a Provincial intervention in local government.

Issued by Ernest Putsoenyane - DA Spokesperson on Finance Masilonyana Local Municipality