By Levy Masiteng
The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has raised alarm over billions owed to creditors, alongside widespread irregular tenders and more than R7 billion in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure across several Free State municipalities.
This emerged during a follow-up meeting held earlier this month.
Financial sustainability challenges were laid bare in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality, where the committee heard that about R141 million of its R156 million budget is spent on salaries, leaving only around R7 million for service delivery.
Serious concerns were also raised in Letsemeng, Kopanong and Moqhaka local municipalities, where infrastructure failures, unfunded budgets and rising debt to Eskom continue to undermine operations.
In Letsemeng, the collapse of the Koffiefontein Water Treatment Works project and ongoing water shortages in towns such as Petrusburg drew sharp criticism.
“Municipalities must prioritise their service delivery functions, such as water provision,” said committee chairperson Dr Zweli Mkhize.
However, municipal leadership told the committee that investigations into irregular expenditure are ongoing.
Audit performance also remains a major concern.
Municipalities such as Masilonyana and Mohokare, which previously received disclaimer audit opinions, still have outstanding audits.
“Communities cannot continue to bear the consequences of weak governance, poor planning and a lack of accountability. We require clear timelines, decisive action and tangible improvements on the ground,” Mkhize said.
Lawmakers also questioned the continued reliance on consultants to compile financial statements, calling for clear audit action plans and stronger accountability measures.
“We note that there has been progress and acknowledge those efforts. However, we remain concerned about the persistence of poor outcomes and the continuing dysfunctionality within municipalities,” Mkhize said.
The committee has directed all affected municipalities to submit detailed written reports within 10 days, outlining financial recovery plans and measures to address infrastructure failures.
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