Central SA
DA caucus slams governance of ego in Matjhabeng─── LUCKY NKUYANE 12:20 Fri, 27 Oct 2023
“However, in his 100 days speech... the lights will be fixed, potholes will be fixed and nothing has happened whilst he keeps saying everything has improved.”
The DA caucus in the Matjhabeng Municipality in the Free State has slammed the executive mayor of the municipality.
The DA caucus leader, Igor Scheurkogel, said the repercussions of the municipality's financial crisis have serious damaging effects on the community of Matjhabeng. Scheurkogel accused Mayor Thanduxolo Khalipha of making false statements about the improvements since taking over the office.
His criticism toward Khalipha comes after the municipality’s bank account was attached following a court order by the Johannesburg High Court, which led to the municipality being unable to pay workers' salaries for October.
It is the older residents that bear the brunt of the crises. The governance of ego overshadows the needs of the people. R1.5 million was spent on Imbizos whilst telling people that change has been made.
“I made a video about the street lights the other night. In three of the main streets in Odendaalsrus, in my ward, not a single light has been fixed. However, in his 100 days speech... the lights will be fixed, potholes will be fixed and nothing has happened whilst he keeps saying everything has improved,” Scheurkogel said.
Khalipha recently distanced himself from the period when he served as a member of the Mayoral Committee. Scheurkogel has also slammed the mayor for the lack of transparency. He said the opposition was never made aware until after the court verdict against the municipality.
On Thursday (26/10), the High Court in Johannesburg struck an urgent application off the roll, launched by the municipality after the same court made an order which saw the municipal account being attached. The court struck the Matjhabeng matter off the roll due to a lack of urgency. It’s understood that the municipality will now be approaching a well-known bank to have it release money so that workers can be paid.
OFM News recently learned that two service providers dragged the municipality to court to demand payment of over R120 million and the municipal account as a consequence of the court case was attached. It’s also understood that there are at least 11 service providers who are demanding a payment of R750 million from the troubled municipality.
During this briefing, Khalipa told journalists the municipality owes Eskom R5 billion and Vaal Central Water Board over R5 billion. The municipality is also among some of the ailing municipalities that owe third-party contributions. The Lejweleputswa’s SAMWU regional deputy secretary Dan Mana told OFM News that the municipality owes millions of rands to third-party contributions.
This includes provident funds and medical aid, among others. Mana said a few years back the municipality owed a contribution of about R5 million to R10 million.
