SEDIBENG.- ActionSA said it is outraged by the disgraceful return of R650m in unspent infrastructure grants by the ANC-led Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) to the National Treasury.
The party said the money was intended to fix collapsing infrastructure, while residents suffer without basic services.
“This failure is a damning indictment of the political and administrative leadership of Emfuleni. As a result, ActionSA is launching a petition calling for the immediate removal of the executive mayor, the municipal manager (MM), chief financial officer (CFO), and chief operating officer (COO) for their roles in this catastrophic underspending — particularly while Emfuleni’s water, sanitation, roads, and electricity infrastructure are in crisis,” said Action SA’s Emfuleni chairperson, Bongani Dhlamini.
He added that it is unacceptable that while residents are forced to live among sewage spills, broken roads, and without reliable water or electricity, the municipality returns R650m that could have been used to alleviate these crises and that the mayor and his senior team have failed the people of Emfuleni and must be removed immediately.
ActionSA called for:
1. The immediate removal of the Mayor, MM, CFO, and COO as the political and administrative heads responsible for this failure.
2. A full investigation by the Auditor-General into the reasons behind the underspending and the return of funds.
3. Immediate consequence management, including suspensions, disciplinary action, and criminal investigations where warranted.
4. A formal inquiry in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature into why the Section 139 intervention has failed so dismally in Emfuleni.
“With three members of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, ActionSA will also table urgent questions and motions in the Legislature to ensure that this matter is debated and acted upon. ActionSA will continue to stand with the residents of Emfuleni who have been abandoned by a government that is unable to meet their most basic needs. We invite all residents to join our petition to ensure that accountability is enforced, and change is delivered.”