A damning oversight report has revealed R26,8 million in irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure in the Setsoto Local Municipality – the seat is Ficksburg.
Riëtte Dell, DA councillor in this municipality, is now demanding urgent disciplinary action and full accountability. “We call for immediate updates on criminal referrals to the police, Hawks, and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). We will submit formal questions to the council to track progress on disciplinary proceedings against implicated officials,” she says.
This massive financial loss directly undermines service delivery and development where residents already face persistent water outages, crumbling infrastructure, and poor access to basic services.
“While we acknowledge the effort made by the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) to bring historical irregularities to light, the report’s contents confirm what the DA has warned about for years: a culture of impunity, poor contract management, and a breakdown in financial oversight within the municipality.
The report further reveals:
• Over R7,2 million in irregular expenditure has been referred to the police and the SIU for further investigation.
• R2,3 million linked to possible financial misconduct by officials.
• Only R138 600 in recoverable funds, despite years of wrongdoing.
• Repeated failure to adhere to supply chain management (SCM) regulations, with deviation-based procurement misused and contracts mismanaged.
• Serious allegations of kickbacks involving the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) beneficiaries have raised concerns of embedded corruption.
“This is not just an accounting failure; it is a governance crisis that affects the daily lives of residents who go without basic services while public money is wasted or stolen. The DA Setsoto caucus is taking action as opposition in council, not to allow these findings to be buried in bureaucracy or forgotten after today’s meeting.
“We requested that quarterly progress reports be provided to the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) and the council on all referred cases. We remain committed to clean governance, service delivery, and transparency. We will not rest until those responsible for misusing public resources are held accountable,” says Dell.
