By STAFF REPORTER
14 October 2024- The Democratic Alliance (DA) said it has requested the Northern Cape MEC of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Bentley Vass, to help resolve Phokwane Local Municipality’s decade long rates stalemate that continues to be extremely disadvantageous to farmers and the municipality alike.
The DA councillor in Phokwane Local Municipality, Annette van Wyk said since 2013, the municipality failed to rectify inflated property valuations and erroneous municipal accounts in relation to 36 000 hectares of farmland and 362 farmers in the area. Van Wyk said farmers are desperate to settle the outstanding debt, ranging from between R15 million to R90 million, but refuse to pay until the accounts are rectified.
“In November 2023, the mayor of Phokwane Local Municipality, conceded to the National Portfolio Committee on COGTA that there have been inaccuracies in the municipality’s billing system since 2013.
“He also claimed that the municipality’s revenue manager was working on resolving the issue. To date the situation remains unchanged. Phokwane is now demanding payment from farmers,” she said.
Van Wyk further said this is despite multiple attempts by the DA to also get the accounts corrected and finalized, through liaison with a string of former managers. She added that efforts have been particularly hampered by instability in the institution, which has gone through five Municipal Managers and three Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) in the last four years.
“The Union is the biggest contributor in terms of Phokwane’s property rates. Effectively, Phokwane’s debt collection remains below the accepted norm, having a ripple effect on the municipality’s ability to repay its long list of creditors.
“After 10 years of accounts dysfunction, Phokwane is also rated as one of the most dysfunctional municipalities in the country. Unresolved accounts are not only bankrupting Phokwane, but also delaying the transfer of properties onto the names of current property owners,” said van Wyk.
She said the situation must not be allowed to fester and COGHSTA must step in to help rectify the accounts. Van Wyk said they hope that communication between COGHSTA spokesperson, Gizella Opperman and Vass’s office last week, will finally be the beginning of the end of Phokwane’s accounting catastrophe.
“To place additional pressure on the municipality and COGHSTA, Opperman has sent an update to the national COGTA parliamentary committee,” she said.
The Guardian 