The DA in Mpumalanga expresses significant concern over the fact that in her State of the Province Address, Premier Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane failed to provide a plan on how they are going to help municipalities that are bankrupt or in financial crisis.

All 17 Mpumalanga local municipalities, and the three districts, are currently failing to provide proper services to the masses because of financial difficulties caused by a failure to collect revenue.

“As Mpumalanga’s Commander in Chief, the DA expected Premier Mtsweni-Tsipane to tell the people of the province how her administration will help municipalities ease their financial crises to provide services and pay creditors. We were disappointed by her silence on this burning matter,” Trudie Grovè-Morgan: MPL – DA spokesperson, said.

“Equally concerning to note is that between the 2019/2020 and 2020/21 financial years, the debt owed by municipalities in the province to creditors once again increased by 9% to R16.5 billion.

“The DA finds it extremely concerning that Section 131 of the Municipal Finance Management Act report to the Provincial Legislature, noted that for the 2020/2021 financial year, 55% of municipalities in the province reported deficits which totalled R2.7 billion.

“Over the above-mentioned period, eMalahleni, Govan Mbeki, the City of Mbombela, Lekwa, and Thaba Chweu local municipalities reported the highest deficit.”

A list of reported deficits from highest to lowest:

• eMalahleni – R671 040 464
• Govan Mbeki – R608 885 423
• City of Mbombela – R383 837 049
• Lekwa – R329 983 528
• Thaba Chweu – R305 039 011
• Victor Khanye – R110 168 791
• Dr Pixley Ka Isaka Seme – R99 356 809
• Mkhondo – R90 779 795
• Msukaligwa – R64 414 770
• Nkangala District – R35 730 382
• Gert Sibande District – R1 181 693.

“Over the past few years, almost all the local municipalities in the province owe billions because of poor financial management practices. They always find themselves on Eskom, Silulumanzi, and Rand Water’s disconnection lists as they are unable to generate revenue – which has resulted in increasing debtor accounts.

“As a direct consequence of the financial spiral in our local municipalities, many in the below-mentioned districts failed to pay creditors within a 30-day period:

• Ehlanzeni District, which owed creditors nearly R3 billion, had a creditor repayment rate of 323 days;
• Nkangala District, which owed creditors over R7 billion, had a creditor repayment rate of 286 days; and
• Gert Sibande District, which owed R6.5 billion, had a creditor repayment rate of 514 days.

“Given the above, the DA in the province calls on Premier Mtsweni-Tsipane to urgently intervene and make these municipalities a priority. The provincial government must also conduct a skills audit for all senior managers in municipalities to ensure that only qualified and ethical people are in a position to handle municipal finances.”