GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - The DA, EFF and FF+ again abstained from voting on the budget at the special council meeting this morning. Their refusal to vote on the budget is based on the fact that they do not recognise Cllr Willem Safers as legal mayor because of his alleged illegal election.
The ANC and CSA voted on the budget but the budget could not be passed as a majority vote is needed to do so. Cllr Ewald Loock also explained previously that they have serious issues with the budget that need to be addressed before it can be passed.
This follows after the draft IDP and budget could not be passed at the general council meeting on 7 June as the DA, EFF and FF+ abstained from voting.
Loock announced last week that the DA will not be voting on the IDP considering that they have serious issues with the budget and the budget is attached to the IDP.
The following concerns relating to the budget were raised by Loock:
1) Unfunded budget: “Provincial Treasury advised the municipality to prioritise the tabling of a funded budget. The budget is unfunded due to creditors in the amount of R366-million. R283-million is owed to ESKOM and with an interest rate of 6%, this amount increases by more than R16-million per annum.
"This is more than R1-million per month. Even though the amount is increasing every month, no payment arrangement is in place and the only reference in the budget to this very important issue is that a proper plan to pay back should be part of the budget.”
2) Labour-related issues: “As part of the Auditor General report 2018/2019 the amount of R18-million related to employee cost was classified as “unauthorised”. In the 2018/2019 audit report, it was stated that employee cost paid out was not in line with signed contracts.
"Before we approve the budget, we need to know what happened here. In addition, there is a list of employees who received back-pay and the DA is requesting that the list be tabled in council. In the budget, it is stated that employee cost amounts to 33% of expenditure.
"At a payment rate of 95% the employee cost percentage at the end of March 2022 is 42%. This means that 42 cents in every rand goes towards employee cost, and this is too high.”
In 2020 the Graaff-Reinet Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRPA) submitted a petition with 3 600 signatures against salary increases for municipal staff. This petition was never responded to.
In a letter to CoGTA the municipality stated that the request not to effect salary increases was tabled at various meetings during the budgetary processes of the council but, considering that the matter of salary increases for municipal employees is not to be decided by the municipality but at a national bargaining council level, the council could not adhere to the request of the GRRPA in this regard. Consequence management was also raised as a concern.
“The Management Report to the Accounting Officer dated 30 June 2020 the Auditor-General provides a summary of transgressions from the previous year that were either not investigated or proper disciplinary steps were not taken after investigation: Effective and appropriate disciplinary steps not taken against officials who made or permitted unauthorised expenditure (R61 607 000), irregular expenditure (R23 991 499), as well as a fruitless and wasteful expenditure (R8 491 241).
"The Auditor-General ordered that this must be investigated to determine whether any official is liable for losses incurred as a result of this expenditure, disciplinary steps must be taken against officials who caused or permitted the expenditure and losses incurred must be recovered from those liable. The DA needs information on steps that were taken in this regard.”
3) Municipal assets: In this regard, mention was made of municipal assets that are utilized without any payment. “A certain individual owes the municipality around R800 000, and his 30-day account is on R11 000. This means that he is still not paying. In Willowmore a municipal official is using commonage without paying. There is no report that money paid for hunting on farms in Jansenville and Klipplaat was received for local economic development.”
4) Maintenance: “Only R15-million of the R25,7-million budget for maintenance was spent.” In response to the GRRPA concerns around maintenance, the municipality stated that its maintenance budget is way below the required percentage of the total budget and that repairs are being done within the available limited resources.
“There is no clarity on how the budgeted amount of R27-million will be spent in the next year.”
5) Contracted services: GAP security: “The municipal manager was requested to investigate the effectiveness of GAP security. The outcome of this investigation was not brought back to council yet.”
The GRRPA also raised concerns around the effectiveness of GAP security and suggested that the municipality should investigate using SMHART security, which is thought to be very successful, instead. In response to this, the GRRPA was accused of attempting to co-govern the municipality.
“An amount of R13-million for security services is included in the draft budget with no information on how this amount will be spent effectively. PowerVac (Pollution Solutions):
"An amount of R3,6-million is budgeted for PowerVac (Pollution Solutions) but the Supply Chain Management Reports reflect deviations in the amount of R7-million for November and December only.” A previous request for comment on an alleged fraudulent payment in the amount of R1,2-million made to PowerVac that was submitted by Graaff-Reinet Advertiser was not responded to by the municipality.
“There is no control over the movement of these trucks. The DA proposes that sewerage trucks be repaired and utilized in all towns within the Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality.”
6) Fleet management: “There is no reference in the budget to fleet management and how the municipality will move from Sky Metro to its own fleet. Fleet management is still not at a point of cost-saving. In addition, there is no control over vehicles – vehicles are not roadworthy, and logbooks are not filled in. For these reasons the DA cannot agree on a budget for vehicles.”
7) Effectiveness of capital spending: “An amount of R18-million for water was spent in Aberdeen over the past five years but Aberdeen still does not have water. Capital was spent on a sewerage plant in Klipplaat but the sewerage plant is vandalized already.
"The DA needs an explanation, especially regarding water in Aberdeen, before approving any further budget for capital spending. There also needs to be insurance in the budget that capital spending will be effective.”
8) Lack of responsiveness: “The budget makes provision for R6,4 million payable towards the packages of senior management. For this kind of money, the council and the public should receive more responsiveness from the management team.
"The GRRPA already raised this as a matter of concern and had a meeting with CoGTA in this regard. After visiting all areas, there is a file filled with emails that were never responded to. No response, no budget.”
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