Picture: The Lekwa-Teemane Local Municipality mayor, Sebang Motlhabi/Facebook
By OBAKENG MAJE
The Lekwa-Teemane Local Municipality said, it has managed to pay salaries for the month of May 2023. A few days ago, the acting municipal manager, Kabo Forane sent a letter to municipal employees informing them about the possible delays due to financial distress.
“The office of the acting municipal manager would like to bring it to your attention that, as the municipality is depending on revenue collection as one of its main sources of income, we are currently experiencing financial difficulties that have resulted from a low collection of revenue from consumers.
“Taking the above-mentioned statement into consideration, councillors, senior managers, line managers and officials are hereby informed that there is a great possibility that the payment for May 2023 salaries will be delayed until the municipality has sourced sufficient funds to process the salaries for May 2023,” said Forane.
He said, they trusted that, the matter will be resolved at the earliest convenience and apologised for the inconvenience caused.
However, yesterday, the Lekwa-Teemane Local Municipality mayor, Sebang Motlhabi told Taung DailyNews that, the municipality managed to pay salaries for the month of May 2023. Motlhabi said the municipality was able to collect enough revenue to cover salaries for May 2023.
Lekwa-Teemane is not the only municipality struggling to pay salaries. The embattled Ditsobotla Local Municipality is also experiencing delays in salary payments for the month of May 2023.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) leader in North West, Leon Basson said all North West municipalities are dysfunctional. Basson said the average score for North West municipalities in the Rating Africa’s annual Municipal Financial Sustainability Index (MFSI) is a mere 21 points.
“This is the lowest in the country shared with the Free State. In short, all North West municipalities are facing collapse, are dysfunctional, unable to deliver services, or maintain or expand on infrastructure to meet service delivery demands.
“This contributes significantly to economic decline and unemployment as we can see in all small dorpies throughout the province from Christiana to Vryburg, Leeudoringstad to Ganyesa, and Koster to Ventersdorp,” he said.
Basson further said the JB Marks Local Municipality is considered to be the best-performing municipality in North West, at a score of 35, but is, at the same time, one of the worst performing in South Africa, one point below the national average of 36. He added that the Naledi Local Municipality scored 7, the worst in the country.
“The Vryburg residents can attest to the misery they are forced to endure because of the ANC’s sustained misrule there. The MFSI report confirms that the “unabated destruction” of municipalities continues throughout much of South Africa, but that there is hope.
“The DA-governed municipalities continue to far outperform all those misgoverned by the ANC. The Western Cape average score is recorded at 52 points, the highest. Evidence that confirms the DA’s good governance track record and the only party that is capable to rebuild what the ANC has destroyed in North West,” said Basson.
He said the Ratings Africa in its annual Municipal Financial Sustainability Index (MFSI) confirmed what North West residents knew all along, informed by their daily lived experiences – that three decades of ANC misrule has basically destroyed the province.
According to Basson, water, electricity, sanitation, and refuse removal services are erratic at best, unemployment is the highest in South Africa at 54%, roads are potholed-ridden death traps and all North West municipalities are dysfunctional.
The Guardian 