DEAR Editor,-
The 2017/18 financial year Unaudited Closeout budget performance briefing by the KZN Provincial Treasury has again exposed the shambolic state of local government in the province, with municipalities only spending R35-million (or 17 percent) of R206-million in provincial department grants allocated during this period.
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According to treasury, KZN municipalities grossly underspent grant funding from the province’s Co-operative Governance, Arts and Culture, Sport and Recreation and Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs to the tune of more than R170-million.
The findings come after an announcement that KZN has seen an excess of 500 violent service delivery protests during the last year alone. Most of these relate to municipal service delivery, or lack thereof.
The DA is not surprised by this state of affairs, we have come to expect nothing less from an uncaring ANC government that places the party ahead of people.
The result of this poor planning and management by the MEC and her department is that the people of KZN must once again bear the brunt of failed governance and service delivery.
The DA will not allow Cogta MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube to dodge this bullet, as has become her modus operandi when it comes to accountability within municipalities.
Her recent acknowledgement that grant spending is in fact her mandate means she must now step up to the plate and take full responsibility for this shocking under-expenditure.
The DA will hold her to this and expect her to explain how and why this dismal failure happened on her watch.
Earlier this year the Provincial Treasury warned the MEC and her department that the transfer of R65-million in March would be too late for municipalities to spend these funds.
Yet the MEC and her department ignored this advice. The question is why?
The people of KZN need to take the law into their own hands and this can only happen at the ballot box.
They need to elect a government that places people and service delivery at the forefront. Only the DA can do this.
FRANCOIS RODGERS, MPL
DA KZN Spokesman on Finance
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