LYDENBURG – The DA in Thaba Chweu is concerned about financial irregularities in the municipality with regard to irregular expenditure during the 2012/13 financial year amounting to R57,57 million.
In a statement the party said that the council had completely ignored Auditor General Terrence Nombembe’s recommendations of the previous financial year, calling for a thorough audit of TCM’s financial department to be conducted.
“To date, the audit has not been done, resulting in an even poorer state of financial affairs in the municipality. During the April 2013 portfolio finance meeting the DA objected to this unidentified spending and it was decided that these expenditures would be listed.
This too has yet to happen as unidentified unidentified spending amounting to R2,1 million and R2,5 million for April and June respectively has been recorded, with no mention of what the money was being spent on.”
The party said that in December last year, a team-building exercise was organised for municipal officials at Vari Holdings in Malalane. Even though only a few officials attended this event, the bill amounted to R82 400.
The portfolio committee in March/April this year decided that the officials who approved this fruitless expenditure should reimburse the council and to date this has still not been done.
“Just like the AG’s recommendations, portfolio committee resolutions are simply ignored as gross overspending and financial mismanagement continues unabated.
This again provides more evidence supporting the DA’s call that TCM must be dissolved in terms of Section 139(1)(c) of the Constitution because it is unable to fulfil its mandate of structuring and managing its administration to promote the social and economic development of the community,” the statement read.
