The employees of Okhahlamba Local Municipality were left worried and frustrated after recently receiving the news that the municipality is ‘bankrupt’.

According to a source close to the story, the municipality called its employees to a meeting on Tuesday (April 1), where they were told that the institution is bankrupt and cannot perform some of its duties up until the beginning of the new financial year, which starts in July.

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The financial challenges at this municipality have also drawn the attention of the KwaZulu-Natal Treasury Department. In a letter addressed to Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs MEC Rev Thulasizwe Buthelezi, the Treasury said it noted with concern that the municipality has undertaken Capital Projects to the value of approximately R22.1 million from internally-generated funds that were not included in the 2024/25 Approved Budget. This came up during the bi-lateral engagement between the Provincial Treasury and the municipality regarding the 2024/25 Mid-Year Budget & Performance Assessment and impact on the 2024/25 Adjustment Budget held on February 17.

Okhahlamba Local Municipality had not responded to these allegations at the time the story was published.

Read the next edition of the Ladysmith Gazette for an in-depth story.

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