The Free State MEC for Cooperative Governance Saki Mokoena says municipalities in the province need to be financially sustainable to render services. In some municipalities, political instability is also a big concern.
Municipalities in the Free State collectively owe more than R10 billion to water boards and power entities. The Mangaung metro municipality is owed R11 billion by residents, businesses and government departments.
It is one of the municipalities that is unable to properly render services. As a result, it has come up with a strategy to encourage people to pay at least half of their municipal debt.
“We have already put systems in place that amongst which include incentives schemes where we have asked different layers of society. To cooperate with the government to say if you pay us to start with residents if they pay us 50% of what they owe us. We will definitely give them a clean bill of life and they can continue to pay their current and some are beginning to come forward there’s got a timeframe. We are finishing and we are now in our second month out of a year that we are giving them,” says Mangaung Metro Municipality Mayor Gregory Nthatisi.
The provincial Cooperative Governance department is conducting oversight visits to all municipalities, to assess their situation and strengthen stability where needed. Mokoena says critical positions in all the municipalities are being filled.
“We are focusing on the intervention that stabilise the leadership so that it is able to do its work and lead the institution. We are going to municipalities, I was in Maluti a Phofung and we will announce measures later this week and how we are going to help them. But the key strategy here is elected leadership to do their job,”
The Mafube, Mohokare and Kopanong municipalities are amongst those that have failed to pay workers’ salaries on time. And this has also negatively affected third parties.
