Dear mayor, municipal manager and councillors.
I write to express my disappointment and condemnation of your collective conduct and actions.
They are a travesty of justice for the people of the Umdoni Municipality.
The illegal process and resolutions taken by yourselves when compiling and adopting the 2025/26 budget are nothing less than an insult to law-abiding citizens who pay their municipal taxes, and who contribute to your very own earnings.
It may not be obvious to you that your actions also harm those who choose not to pay (for their own reasons), and those less fortunate residents who genuinely cannot afford to do so.
Policies, by-laws, IDPs and budgets, are critical governance tools that require proper public consultation, honest compliance with existing policies and laws, and genuine care for the wellbeing of the people for whom those budgets are intended.
You, together with the officials and councillors who chose to support your actions and omissions, evidently have no regard for the law, the rights of residents, and the future well-being of the people you were elected to serve.
The process you followed in compiling an unfunded budget, the deliberate avoidance of applying Umdoni’s own by-laws and the laws of the country, and the scurrilous actions of hiding incompetence and laziness in the administration by attempting to write off collectible debts, showcases the reasons why the infrastructure and economy of Umdoni has suffered so badly. The impact of your actions will continue to drive economic decline and ultimately leave the citizens of Umdoni poorer than before.
The ill-considered write-off of collectible debts sends a message to law-abiding residents that they paid their taxes in vain. It says that an ANC government will take your money, reward deliberate non-payment, and fail to render services. You took this decision in the absence of any detailed investigation, without an analysis of data and evidence-based recommendations, and in direct contravention of Umdoni’s Credit Control and Debt Collection By-Law, and Umdoni’s Debt Write-Off Policy. Legal processes have simply been ignored. It further violates provisions in the Municipal Finance Management Act and the Local Government Systems Act. Citizens have a constitutional right to just administrative action.
Your actions appear to be an attempt to hide incompetence and mismanagement in both revenue collection and service delivery. It is a ploy to buy favour amidst a growing chorus of critics who have come to understand that your party has failed them. It sabotages the future viability of the municipality at a time when the focus ought to be on economic growth for job creation.
Umdoni residents deserve better and such treachery will not sway the DA from pursuing the goal of replicating what it does in other parts of South Africa under practises of good governance.
These acts you have perpetrated will not go unchallenged. They have been referred to various structures of government for intervention and may become the subject of litigation.
Umdoni has the potential to grow its economy, protect its environment, provide more work opportunities for its young people, and look after those who need support. Politicking with unfunded budgets and promises to hand out financial rewards to debtors who can afford to pay their taxes, is not a solution for better services, and ultimately a better future.
EDWIN BAPTIE MP
DA UGU North Constituency Head
* Comment is being awaited from Umdoni Municipality.
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