AFRIFORUM’S Lower South Coast and Amanzimtoti branches recently submitted their proposals for the integrated development plan (IDP) to their respective municipalities.

Among other things, the branches suggested that a larger portion of the budgets should be spent on infrastructure maintenance and repairs. Furthermore, the branches also expressed concern about the number of irregular expenses made by these municipalities.

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Every year, community members get the opportunity to submit proposals to their municipalities which will then be considered for the municipalities’ IDPs. AfriForum’s branches nationwide participate in this process, and previous proposals have already been incorporated and implemented in the IDPs.

AfriForum’s Amanzimtoti branch expressed their opinion on the auditor general’s finding that there was uncompetitive and irregular procurement at the eThekwini Municipality, especially concerning grants made to family members. The branch suggests that urgent precautions should be put in place to eliminate these irregularities.

Although the metro spent 8.9% of the municipal budget on maintenance and repair work, the AfriForum branch believes that this percentage should be increased to 15%, especially with the flood damage considered.

“About R4.8 billion of the municipal budget was also attributed to fruitless and wasteful expenditure. The branch considers this to be unacceptable, especially because this expenditure in 2021/2022 was higher than previous years. Account holders of the eThekwini Municipality take an average of 88 days to settle their accounts while the metro itself takes an average of 71 days to pay their bills. In addition, 58% of the municipality’s bills are not recovered at all.”

According to Jannie van Staden, chairperson of AfriForum’s Amanzimtoti branch, the municipality has an obligation towards the community to ensure that the budget is used correctly in order to meet the community’s needs.

“We also requested that several streetlights in Amanzimtoti should be repaired, the cleanliness of some parks should also be stepped up and Beach Road should be urgently repaired. The South Coast is dependent on tourism, and the state of some infrastructure is hurting the local tourism industry,” he said.

Eugene van Aswegen, AfriForum’s provincial coordinator for KwaZulu-Natal, believes that unnecessary wastage of funds has a serious impact on service delivery, tourism and the local economy.

“AfriForum is actively participating in the IDP process, and it is also necessary that we comment on the findings of the auditor general so that we can ensure that municipalities fulfil their obligations. The proposals we submit are formulated to improve service delivery, and we hope that the municipalities take them to heart.”

Visit www.wordlid.co.za to become part of your nearest AfriForum branch.

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