The Chairperson of the Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Public Administration (Traditional Affairs, Human Settlements and Water & Sanitation), Mr Mxolisi Kaunda, is concerned by reports of the closure of the Emfuleni Local Municipality client service centre due to unpaid rent.
“The closure of the client service centre negatively impacts the ability of the municipality to collect rates and taxes, a key driver of municipal revenue. The inability to collect revenue will have an unintended negative impact on the ability to deliver quality services to the people,” Mr Kaunda said.
The 6th Parliament select committee visited the municipality and criticised the lack of progress in resolving material risks of governance and financial control within the municipality, which exacerbate the already dire state of poor service delivery. Furthermore, the continued attachment of the municipality’s bank accounts by service providers, such as Eskom and Rand Water, due to non-payment for services requires a focused and deadline-driven approach.
“While it is not sustainable that the accounts of the municipality are attached, it is also unsustainable that the municipality does not pay for services. The residents of the municipality deserve better basic services in line with the objects of municipalities as envisioned in Section 152 of the Constitution,” Mr Kaunda suggested.
The Chairperson also highlighted the importance of government departments paying the municipality for services to improve cash flow management and enable the municipality to provide services.
The Chairperson called on the municipality and the provincial executive to find a workable solution to ensure that the client service centre is reopened and that service providers are paid on time.
Africa Fact: Many old West African families have private library collections that go back hundreds of years. The Mauritanian cities of
Chinguetti and Oudane have a total of 3,450 hand written mediaeval books. There may be another 6,000 books still surviving in the other city of Walata. Some date back to the 8th century AD. There are 11,000 books in private collections in Niger. Finally, in Timbuktu, Mali, there are about 700,000 surviving books.
Scrapper
Iran: You have two cows. When the US finds out, they impose sanctions on you on charges of running an illicit methane-powered missile program.
Ozzie Treat
What\’s the difference between an ANC MP and a flying pig?
The letter F.