Central SA
Free State municipality penalised for non-compliance─── LUCKY NKUYANE 12:08 Tue, 21 Jun 2022
Free State municipalities are allegedly continuing to disregard key finance management acts and regulations which govern worker benefits and third-party payments.
One of the municipalities which are faced with financial irregularities and failing to adhere to regulations, includes the troubled Welkom-based Matjhabeng Local Municipality.
According to the latest report by the Auditor-General (AG), Tsakani Maluleke, the municipality received a hefty penalty. She says the municipality failed to pay over employee pay-as-you-earn deductions within seven days after the end of the specific month, as required by the Income Tax Act. Maluleke adds that this resulted in penalties of R1,9 million and interest of R0,6 million.
A total of eleven cash-strapped municipalities in the province have reportedly approached the provincial departments of Finance and Cooperative Governance (Cogta) for a bail-out merely two months after the 2021/22 financial year ended.
ALSO READ: Eleven Free State municipalities beg for bailout
Maluleke told Members of Parliament (MPs) that three municipalities are part of a group of six out of ten sampled municipalities that could not account for or keep track of where taxpayers' money went. She said these three cash-strapped municipalities include the Qwaqwa-based Maluti-A-Phofung, the Theunissen-based Masilonyana, and the Boshof-based Tokologo Local Municipalities.
ALSO READ: Free State municipalities fail to trace taxpayers' money
The irregular expenditure increased from R7,63 billion to R9,18 billion with the province regressing over the term of the previous administration.
ALSO READ: Free State municipalities' irregular spending grows by R2 billion
Municipalities in the province are also said to have been outsourcing their responsibility by appointing consultants after year-end to prepare the financial statements and to construct and correct the underlying information. Maluleke added that a total of R254 million had been spent on consultants since 2016/17.
OFM News previously reported the Hawks are investigating 15 municipalities including the troubled Theunissen-based Masilonyana, the Welkom-based Matjhabeng, and the Qwaqwa-based Maluti-A-Phofung.
ALSO READ: Hawks swoop in on Free State municipalities
