MEC Simon Skhosana introduces administrator to Bushbuckridge Local Municipality
24 April 2013
The MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Mr Simon Skhosana has introduced Mr Martin Sithole to the Bushbuckridge Local Municipality as the new Administrator with effect from today. This follows the Provincial Executive Council’s decision to put the Bushbuckridge Local municipality under Administration in terms of Section 139 (1) (b) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act No.108 of 1996).
The Executive Councils decision comes after MEC Skhosana was not satisfied with the performance of the municipality, especially the serious financial problem facing the municipality. This situation is of grave concern that the municipality is no longer able to discharge its responsibility of providing its communities with water as required in terms of its constitutional mandate. Some of the problems faced by the municipality include failure to provide water, the municipality is dependent on grant funding as 81% of the revenue budget is made out of Equitable Share and Municipal Infrastructure Grant, the outstanding debtor of the municipality is an amount of R993 million and the outstanding creditors amounts to R351 million, the municipality billed consumers up to March 2013 an accumulative amount of R298 million and only collected an amount of R50, 6 million in the same period and the slow spending of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant.
As an immediate task the Administrator has been tasked to come up with a recovery plan aimed at securing the municipality’s ability to meet its obligations to provide basic services including its financial commitments, recommend appropriate changes to the municipality’s budget and revenue-raising measures and assess all contractual obligations of the municipality and renegotiate contractual payments, scope and agreed schedule with service providers, in particular resolving the contractual obligation with the Bushbuckridge Water Board. The intervention will be for a period of not exceeding 6 months. The administrator will be working closely with the municipal council and will engage with all stakeholders like council, employees, organised labour, business and the public at large on the recovery plan for ownership and ultimately integration into the municipal IDP and SDBIP.
MEC Skhosana has met with all councillors, management and staff members. He allayed any fears that the councillors and workers might have had and urged them to work together to turn things around in the municipality for the sake of the community. He has also assured the public that the municipality will be working hard to make sure that service delivery is fast tracked and that all problems they have raised are dealt with.
It is important to note that this intervention only relates to the executive and administrative powers and functions of council and that the legislative powers as vested in terms of section 160(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, are not affected.
The department would once again like to request all stakeholders to fully support the Administrator.
Enquiries
Simphiwe Kunene
Cell: 082 413 3931
Issued by the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs
