Pretoria - The North West government has appointed experts in finances to help its struggling municipalities with financial recovery plans after eight of them were placed under administration by Finance MEC Motlalepula Rosho.
This was announced by MEC for Co-operative Governance, Traditional Affairs and Human Settlements, Nono Maloyi, following their provincial cabinet meeting over the weekend.
Maloyi said several municipalities in the North West were experiencing challenges that impacted on their ability to render services to the citizens.
In November 2021, Exco resolved to place the eight municipalities under mandatory intervention (in line with section 139(5) (a) and (c) of the Constitution, read together with section 139 of the Municipal Finance Management Act.
Among them were the Naledi Local Municipality and Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality; Madibeng Local Municipality and Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality, Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality, Tswaing Local Municipality, Ditsobotla Local Municipality and Mahikeng Local Municipality.
He said the provincial government has, in implementing the mandatory intervention, adopted the following principles to ensure that all affected stakeholders understand and fully embrace the intervention: role-player engagement and activation process; strengthening the municipal finance recovery service and transparency and participation.
“The provincial treasury, Co-Operative Government and Traditional Affairs, South African Local Government Association held sustained engagements with affected municipalities in July 2021, as well as in November 2021, with the then newly elected municipal councils.
“It was during these engagements that mayors of municipalities were taken through the outcome of an assessment conducted in line with the provisions of sections 138, 139 and 140 of the act, which determines the criteria for a municipality in financial crisis and the mandatory intervention framework.
“In preparation for the implementation of the mandatory intervention, the provincial government, National Treasury and the department convened a role-player engagement and activated consultation sessions in April and May 2022, where the affected municipal councils and senior officials were consulted to build awareness on the requirements of Section 139 of the Constitution and chapter 13 of the act,” Maloyi said.
He said when there was a financial crisis in any municipality, section 139(5) of the Constitution requires that the Provincial Exco must impose a recovery plan, saying the findings of the status quo assessment will be used to prepare an appropriate recovery plan.
Maloyi said the provincial executive representative was appointed to oversee the implementation of the financial recovery plan at the affected municipalities: “The Provincial Treasury will place the provincial executive representative at each municipality to lead the implementation of the financial recovery plan. A panel of municipal financial recovery services has been established to support the Provincial Executive Representative in the execution of his/her functions at these municipalities.”
Maloyi said the provincial cabinet had agreed that additional resources must be appointed for the following pillars to oversee the day-to-day operations of the municipalities to give effect to the implementation of the financial recovery plan: Governance; institutional capacity expert; legal experts and service delivery experts.
He said all those efforts were undertaken to stabilise the affected municipalities and ensure that they could effectively render the much-needed services to the public and to sustain this stability in the long term.
Pretoria News