The Democratic Alliance has reviewed the draft financial recovery plan proposed by the West Rand District Municipality.
The draft highlights a number of financial failings and key areas of poor governance that has resulted in the municipality finding itself in the perilous state that it is now in.
Chief among these are the complete disregard for the rule of law and financial controls.
The report recommends a number of measures to arrest the malaise that has crept into the administration in the hopes that this will stem the tide on rot that has become firmly entrenched.
This will not be the case as the officials that are primarily to blame for the municipality’s collapse are, according to this report, those who will be responsible for implementing this recovery plan.
The DA is cognisant of these recommendations; however, it is our view that the following steps be taken to restore good governance and accountability to the residents of the municipality:
The Municipal Manager and CFO are to be replaced with competent staff who are able to properly implement the FRDP; The system of delegations must be overhauled; By-Laws must be reviewed and properly promulgated; The Mayoral Committee must be reduced to 5 members to match the number of departments; Section 79 committees be established for Finance and Corporate Governance. Staff complement costs must be reduced to stay within the framework of 25% to 40%; Cost estimates of all key activities must be provided together with the source of the funding, Eg. Provincial Treasury Assistance or Grants; If a loan must be considered, a funding model should form part of this Financial Recovery Plan; Priorities of the FRP should include a) Strategic Leadership – the competence of the Municipal Manager and the Chief Financial Officer, b) Institutional stabilization and c) transformation; All conditions set by Provincial and National Treasury must be included in the document.
Failure to implement the steps listed above will result in this plan becoming just another ineffectual document that has little to no impact on improving the lives of the people of the West Rand.
The DA has submitted its inputs inline with the 7 June 2019 deadline for comments and will gladly assist either the provincial government or the municipality to ensure that this plan gives affect to good governance and changes the fortunes of the residents of the West Rand.
For far too long have residents who reside in non-Metro municipalities been treated with disdain by the ANC.
Myself, Merafong Constituency Head, Ina Cilliers and DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Finance, Adriana Randall MPL, have drafted a report on the failings of ANC district and local municipalities in Gauteng. This report suggests how to move forward to ensure that the people of Gauteng’s “forgotten” communities are afforded the service and dignity that they deserve.