Madam – Mismanagement of finances.
I became very concerned when reading in the Advertiser of 9 December 2016 regarding the brewing of the municipality finances. We the public expect service delivery and not stories about that there is no money to repair potholes, water leaks and many other repairs that fall under municipal jurisdiction.
Now officials will not be investigated for money that disappeared!! Why not, I want to know? These officials enriched themselves and now the public have to suffer. All my years as a Newcastle citizen, there were never problems such as these, and since everything became political, all started to fall out of place. Money is being mismanagement and culprits are still employed.
What is going to become of this so-called non-corrupted municipality? The people who still have their hands in the cookie jar, will continue and will get away with much more than a few hundred Rand. As long as these money grabbing helpers continue working for the municipality, the municipality will eventually fall under
administration and they will get away untouched and enriched with money that they did not qualify for through working but through stealing.
If the officials such as councillors insist that the municipality is not being corrupted, then they are the ones covering up everything so they are not caught.
Anonymous
Response from Mayor, Makhosini Nkosi:
Allegations of financial mismanagement at Newcastle Municipality.
We acknowledge the receipt of the letter that alleges financial mismanagement at the municipality. In response thereto:
1. We as a municipality, we appreciate the fact that people take keen interest in the running of their municipality. We are also happy to be held accountable by the community we serve.
2. It is not a story that we are in serious financial constraints. It is a fact. We are doing all that is humanly possible to ensure that service delivery is not severely affected by this
situation.
3. We may be wrong, but it would seem as if the writer is very angry or very frustrated which comes out as anger in the letter under reference.
4. We are not aware of any money that has disappeared in the municipality. Further information in this regard may assist us to respond more meaningfully.
5. It is unfair to officials and politicians to make wild allegations which are not substantiated by credible facts. This actually makes a mockery of the genuine complaints of corruption.
6. We do accept that corruption is rife both in the public and private sector in our country. Also corruption maybe perceived or real. We encourage members of the public who have information about any form of corruption to come forward with such information. There are various agencies established by government to fight corruption. Such information may be forwarded to these agencies, like SAPS, Public Protector, Treasury department, et cetera.
If such information is brought to our attention, we will do the necessary investigations and take appropriate steps, where necessary. Under no circumstances shall we cover up for officials and/or politicians who may be involved in corrupt activities. We shall always strive to put the interest of our people first.
