The Mogale City Council failed to produce status quo reports on the “new” financial system it had intended implementing on 1 July 2015 at three council meetings preceding June 2016.
In response to pressure from the Democratic Alliance, the report finally appeared at the council meeting on 24 June.
However, before it could be tabled and debated in council, it was withdrawn by the ANC because “it had not adhered to correct procedure”.
Councillor Dennis Pretorius, the DA spokesperson on Finance, had requested the report five months earlier. The council repeatedly failed to provide it, and at each successive meeting lame excuses were the order of the day.
At the same meeting (on 24 June), the chairperson of the External Audit Committee stated that she had also had difficulty in obtaining the Risk Assessment Report for the financial system from Corporate Support Services as part of the 3rd Quarterly Financial Report.
The DA is of the opinion that the council has no idea what to do about the report or the financial system itself and that it is blatantly clear that the council is running out of excuses.
Last year, the municipality had to pay R3 million to the supplier of the old financial system in order to continue using its software after 30 June 2015. By that date, the parallel run of the two systems should have been completed and the new system should have been fully operational.
Despite promises by the Chief Operating Officer (who is being investigated by the Hawks because of another matter) that the program would be fully functional by 1 July 2015, the financial system is still chaotic– especially the billing module. Frustrated clients continue to receive incorrect statements. Accounts are often suspended and then when clients provide proof of payment, services have to be reconnected.
Pretorius maintains that the inability to integrate modules from different suppliers into one system remains the core problem. This is proving to be a major challenge and no one is prepared to accept responsibility for the debacle.
The total cost for the purchase of the software exceeds R30 million, excluding legal fees and court findings against the municipality for using the software of a company without paying license fees. It is estimated that the legal fees exceed R3 million.
Pretorius suggests that the process of acquiring the system was manipulated to benefit individuals and that the municipality did not purchase the best available system.
“The introduction of the new system reeks of bad planning and mismanagement,” Pretorius stated.
The News approached the council’s spokesperson, Nkosana Zali, for comment on Pretorius’ statement.
“The municipality has drastically reduced billing queries since introduction of the new system. Reduction does not mean total elimination, but we are confident that we have made progress in addressing matters that would have come with teething of the new system. As a councillor involved in the processes that deal with the system, our so-called failure is shared failure not absolving Pretorius or any of the councillors and officials in our system. Our success is also shared success, and includes Pretorius’ contribution.
“We are a municipality that is regarded as second best in terms of Quality of Life in Gauteng. This is so because of the efforts that the municipality has embarked upon to collect rates and improve people’s lives, including being able to donate some of the funds to Pretorius’s NGO.
“The fact that we have received clean audits in succession (and are poised for another) is something that will not please everyone, and the municipality accepts that. Overall, we will continue to engage each billing query from each resident and treat it on its merit,” Zali said in a statement to the News.
Read more about the billing issues:
Council to discuss persistent billing issues
AfriForum launches Mogale City accounts petition
Billing issues are here to stay … for now
Mogale’s lawsuit leaves a big mess
R150K spent on boxes is ‘not cool’
Water loss at R40m, higher rates loom
