MBOMBELA – Executive mayor Cllr Sibusiso Mathonsi yesterday indicated to council that a permanent mayoral residence was off the table.
The mayor said during an ordinary council meeting yesterday afternoon that he had no further intention or plans to purchase or construct a permanent residence for the Mbombela mayor. Mathonsi also requested that a close-out report be compiled, inclusive of the utilisation of the funds earmarked for the residence.
A total of R1 million had been allocated for the construction of a new mayoral residence, despite Mbombela Local Municipality (MLM) experiencing severe cash-flow challenges.
Council last week tabled amendments to the budget for the 2014/15 financial year, which commenced on July 1. According to the final capital budget, a total of R889 418 earmarked for the mayoral residence rolled over from last year’s budget. With an additional R200 000 budgeted for it this year, the total stands at R1 million.
In the same meeting last week in which council approved the amendments, a draft status-quo report which was compiled during a mayoral imbizo in April at the behest of national treasury was tabled to council. The report highlights problems in MLM, which include the prevalence of an organisational structure “of non-motivation and despair” (read the full article here).
According to the report, Mbombela has an unhealthy liquidity position and its liabilities exceed its assets. The result is that service providers are not being paid timeously, while poor planning, supply chain-management challenges and cash-flow problems have also caused it to underspend on its previous year’s capital expenditure budget.
Funds totalling R292,7 million are being rolled over from last year to bring the total capital budget for this financial year to R815,2 million. According to the budget, R1 million is earmarked for the upgrade of the council chamber. Another R1 million, which rolled over from 2013/14, is to be spent on renovating the civic centre this year.
The report also contains a turnaround strategy to ensure the municipality meets its service-delivery and financial obligations. DA caucus leader Mr Jo Koster said, “We as the opposition always want to play a constructive role. The report perpetuates what we have been saying for years. The turnaround strategy contains what the DA as loyal councillors have been saying right from the start.”
