Helen Zille’s DA vs ANC
While Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille will not stand for re-election next month, the party has revealed that the ANC-run metros collectively incurred R8.4 billion in ‘dubious expenditure’.
“This is in stark contrast to the DA-run City of Cape Town with not a cent misspent in unauthorised expenditure,” during the 2013/14 financial year, the DA said.
Zille is set to remain premier of the Western Cape.
Answers to a parliamentary question revealed that 7 of the 8 Metropolitan Municipalities in the country collectively incurred R8.4 billion (R8,402,877,343) in questionable expenditure.
This figure is made up of fruitless and wasteful, irregular and unauthorised expenditure – while fruitless and wasteful expenditure alone amounted to R359.3 million, the DA said.
The top 5 worst offenders in terms of unauthorised expenditure are:
- City of Tshwane: R1.193 billion
- Nelson Mandela Bay: R1.016 billion
- Mangaung: R892.5 million
- Buffalo City: R186.7 million
- City of Johannesburg: R53.1 million
Buffalo City and the City of Johannesburg further incurred R1.33 billion and R1.12 billion in irregular expenditure, respectively.
The DA said that the City of Cape Town only accounted for 0.005% of the total amount of R8.402 billion incurred by all Metros in fruitless and wasteful, irregular and unauthorised expenditure.
The National Treasury said recently that is has begun withholding purse from as many as 60 Municipalities who owe power utility Eskom and additional creditors R9 billion.
It said that with effect from 20 March 2015, it withheld the transfer of equitable share of the national budget to 60 municipalities due to failure to honour their financial commitments in general, “and to pay Eskom and other service delivery creditors in line with section 65 (2) of the Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (MFMA, Act No. 56 of 2003)”.
‘Equitable share’ refers to the money municipalities recieve unconditionally from revenue collected nationally.
Treasury is responsible for managing South Africa’s national government finances, said that the persistent failure by some municipalities to pay creditors within 30 days amounts to financial mismanagement.
More on municipalities
Treasury cuts off 60 municipalities owing Eskom billions
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