National Treasury cuts MIG to Govan Mbeki Municipality and others
Mayor says the council must step in and subsidise projects where grants have been cut.
Govan Mbeki Municipality Mayor Nhlakanipho Zuma told councillors the National Treasury has cut their municipal infrastructure grant (MIG) by R4.6m and the integrated electrification programme (INEP) by R2.5m.
INEP is an initiative by the government to provide capital subsidies to municipalities to address the electrification backlog of permanently occupied residential dwellings.
Zuma said the municipality performed well in MIG spending (more than 100%) because they do not want projects to wait for the allocation from the National Treasury.
“We were able to cover the debt incurred because of late allocation that affected the projects, but the National Treasury has now cut the budget on all allocations. Unfortunately, some of these projects must come to a standstill until we deal with budget allocation.
“However, we will not allow such a situation because our community will not be able to enjoy the benefits of these projects that should have been completed to deliver services,” said Zuma.
Zuma said the council should do like the previous year and subsidise the projects where grants were cut. The DA said the problem with the municipality is that it does not maintain its infrastructure.
They said the DA will not allow ratepayers’ money to fund new projects. According to DA Clr James Masango, sewage is overflowing, street lights do not work, and the electricity infrastructure cannot supply the community with electricity at full capacity.
“Our municipality is bankrupt. Where will we get funds for new projects?” asked Masango.
EFF Clr Wilson Chauke said they won’t allow their internal budget to be channelled to MIG projects because they have seen projects that were not completed.
“The two roads funded through MIG grants in eMbalenhle were not completed. We were told they will now be completed with internal funding from the municipal finance. We know the money allocated for those roads was illegally used,” said Chauke.
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