BLOEMOFNTEIN: The Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality (MMM) is on a path to recovery, although significant challenges remain regarding the ability to improve the delivery of basic services. Sello More, city manager, gave an indication of progress made during a media briefing held on Wednesday, 3 September, and provided an update on the city’s ongoing efforts in financial recovery and service delivery. He said the authority continued to operate in line with a financial recovery plan (FRP) to guide the municipality toward financial stability; focusing on revenue enhancement, cost reduction and improved governance, as well as tackling issues like poor infrastructure maintenance.
The ANC-led municipality was placed under administration, and a National Treasury intervention team was appointed, operating since 2020 to address deep-seated financial issues. The provincial government initially placed the municipality under mandatory intervention in December 2019, which was escalated to a national intervention in March 2022 due to the failure to implement the FRP.
More attributed the municipality’s recovery to factors such as the ability to collect revenue, having a funded budget; and the city’s expenditure of more than 100% of its urban settlements development grant (USDG) and almost 98% of its informal settlements upgrading partnership grant (ISUPG).
“We have a funded budget as a city that remains vulnerable, and the state of the city is more sound than in the previous years,” said More.
However, he highlighted the current impasse with unions representing workers as a challenge, which he said the authority was hoping to resolve with the concerned parties.
Lydia Thekiso, chief financial officer (CFO) of the metro, added significant strides were being made to address the bankruptcy of the metro. “The bank account of the municipality was dry, but we increased by 100% compared to the last financial year. We closed last year with R483 million cash and closed this year with over R1 million to drive the operation of the metro.
“This speaks to the improvement of the collection rate, and in quarter four our collection rate stood at 99,60%. We are enforcing the collection policy, ensuring that people are coming forward and making arrangements for payment of their current accounts and improving on their end. We have proposed to the council to write off 100% of interest rates accumulated on customers as a relief from their huge debt,” said Thekiso.
She said apart from addressing residential debt − mainly rates and taxes and water bills − the metro was also dealing with huge debt from Free State government departments.
“The two indebted departments are Education and Health; we are in talks with these departments to address their debts,” said Thekiso.
Meanwhile, overtime is another bone of contention. The auditor-general (AG) and the National Treasury flagged that the metro’s budget has been impacted by significant overtime costs, which resulted in unauthorised expenditure and budget variances amounting to R105,8 million in 2023.
The trend of overspending has persisted, and the metro reportedly spent R39 million on overtime in the 2023-’24 financial year.
More said shift control has been implemented. He said a definitive agreement was reached with labour, and this was signed by the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu) and the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu).
More said a complaint regarding alleged sexual harassment against Qondile Khedama, general manager of communications, was resolved through the South African Local Government Bargaining Council (Salgbc). It is reported that a female employee made the allegation of his romantic advances after her suspension.
You must be logged in to post a comment.