ANC led Kouga Municipality involved in unlawful acts

Piet Liebenberg
OUR TIMES – Your community newspaper
April 29, 2011

In his report on the financial statements and other regulatory requirements of the Kouga Municipality (KM) for the financial year ending 20 June 2010 the Auditor-General (AG) of South Africa has accused the KM of non-compliance with and transgressions of a host of rules and regulations as required by municipal acts. The KM is still to make public this damning report they received more than two months ago on 24 February.

In his report, the AG found that the KM
• unlawfully loaned money to employees and councillors;
• did not supply evidence that Council approved “fruitless expenditure amounting to R21.4 million” incurred to do remedial work on the Kruisfontein and Kwanozamo housing projects;
• did not implement an effective revenue system, and had not taken the necessary action in terms of the council’s credit control policy to disconnect services for long-outstanding debtors.
• failed to provide Council approval for over expenditure of R75.1 million on bad debts, overspending on employee related costs, grants and subsidies and interest charges;
• failed to submit bank account details to the AG as required;
• did not promptly notify the National Treasury in the prescribed format of the amount by which the accounts are overdrawn and the reason for it;
• failed to not provide evidence that unauthorized, irregular as well as fruitless and wasteful expenditure was reported to the MEC, the Mayor as well as the AG; and
• implemented inefficient processes to investigate and act against officials on discipline/criminal charges.

The KM spokesman, Mfundo Sobele, said that the Auditor General’s report must first be presented to the audit steering and oversight committees before making it public.