{"id":269758,"date":"2025-10-16T13:23:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T11:23:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/?p=269758"},"modified":"2025-10-16T13:23:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T11:23:23","slug":"cash-down-the-drain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/cash-down-the-drain\/","title":{"rendered":"Cash down the drain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Letters-to-the-Editor-kassie-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Letter to the editor\" class=\"wp-image-263864\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Letters to the Editor <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong>Concerned resident, Welkom:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another futile investment summit promises to squander millions of taxpayer funds. Taxpayers in the Matjhabeng Municipality are up in arms with the municipality&#8217;s leadership and its decision to host another investment summit amidst pressing service delivery challenges. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fourth summit in four years, convened by executive mayor Thanduxolo Khalipha, has provoked irate taxpayers whose refuse have not been collected in a month, on top of water scarcity on the rise, and rampant sewage spills the order of the day. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The municipality is currently under administration (Section 139), with the High Court ordering prioritisation of service delivery. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the administrator and his team&#8217;s appointment by the province to assist Matjhabeng with a financial recovery plan, the municipality has not cooperated with the appointed team, \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>as recent letters from the administrator to \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Matjhabeng have highlighted. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The general workforce has been on strike for several weeks, citing a lack of personal protective equipment. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some residents have complained that Operation Patala, spearheaded by mayor Khalipha, was not conducted in the interest of service delivery, but rather to facilitate funding for the summit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Concerned resident, Welkom: Another futile investment summit promises to squander millions of taxpayer funds. Taxpayers in the Matjhabeng Municipality are up in arms with the municipality&#8217;s leadership and its decision 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