NELSPRUIT – After the Auditor General (AG) lambasted Mbombela Local Municipality’s (MLM) finance and governance, the municipality’s executive this week postponed a municipal public accounts (MPAC) oversight committee meeting.
Last year, Lowvelder reported on concerns raised by councillors about oversight committees of MLM not sitting throughout last year. With the AG’s report along with the audited financial statements of the previous financial year and half-year expenditure report tabled to council two weeks ago, its finances has again been placed in the spotlight.
However, councillors sitting on the MPAC committee received an SMS on Tuesday, stating that the meeting has been postponed until further notice.
Mr Werner le Grange, a councillor who sits on the committee, said this was exactly why his party, the DA, has been saying there was a total lack of political will and leadership in the municipality.
“MPAC is so important, especially since the AG found us to be a non-performing, irregular-expenditure municipality. The executive is avoiding ensuring the full working of oversight committees despite the obvious problems. Instead they should be saying, ‘The situation is so serious, let us do something’,” he said.
While the reason for the postponement of the oversight committee meeting was not made clear in the SMS, it has since become apparent that the executive mayor, Cllr Cathy Dlamini, her executive committee and the chairs of each oversight committee were attending a lekgotla in Skukuza.
“There isn’t even money to pay our service providers to buy a new pump for the Van Riebeeck Park swimming pool, but we spend money attending a lekgotla,” Le Grange raged.
At the time of going to press, Mr Joseph Ngala, spokesman for MLM could not be reached for comment.
