“The premier has said that we should get into the municipality, investigate the reasons for their financial management failure and the challenges that they are facing. That work is going to be undertaken by provincial treasury working with national treasury. They will develop a financial recovery plan [for the municipality],” Moiloa said.
“Once that plan is available, we will know exactly the extent of the challenges that the West Rand District Municipality is facing. If we reach a conclusion that the financial recovery plan will not necessarily take that municipality out of its dire financial situation, we will have no option but put the municipality under administration. I must indicate that it is not easy to dissolve the district municipal council due to the manner in which it is structured."
The municipality illegally deposited R77m into VBS Mutual Bank and has since denied any wrongdoing. Its financial woes came to the fore earlier this month when officials were held hostage in their offices after the workers did not get their salaries.
Times Select reported that the mayor‚ councillors‚ executives‚ managers and supervisors were among those who did not get salaries at the end of October.
Government intervenes to ensure municipality workers get paid
Workers at the West Rand District Municipality should be paid at the end of the month after an intervention from provincial and national government into the council’s financial woes. This was announced on Tuesday by Gauteng MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs Uhuru Moiloa.
Moiloa said through an intervention from provincial government, the municipality would receive its equitable share from the national treasury in advance to enable the council to pay workers on time.
The equitable share, he said, was due on December 1 but will be transferred by the national treasury before then. He added that the municipality had more workers than the money it receives from the treasury to pay for salaries, noting that due to this, the municipality will not be placed under administration.
“The premier has said that we should get into the municipality, investigate the reasons for their financial management failure and the challenges that they are facing. That work is going to be undertaken by provincial treasury working with national treasury. They will develop a financial recovery plan [for the municipality],” Moiloa said.
“Once that plan is available, we will know exactly the extent of the challenges that the West Rand District Municipality is facing. If we reach a conclusion that the financial recovery plan will not necessarily take that municipality out of its dire financial situation, we will have no option but put the municipality under administration. I must indicate that it is not easy to dissolve the district municipal council due to the manner in which it is structured."
The municipality illegally deposited R77m into VBS Mutual Bank and has since denied any wrongdoing. Its financial woes came to the fore earlier this month when officials were held hostage in their offices after the workers did not get their salaries.
Times Select reported that the mayor‚ councillors‚ executives‚ managers and supervisors were among those who did not get salaries at the end of October.