The Citizen reports that employees at the coalition-led Ditsobotla Local Municipality are at their wit’s end after they were told this week that they will not receive their May salaries.
They were due to be paid on Thursday. Ditsobotla includes the towns of Lichtenburg, Coligny and surrounding villages and townships. The municipality also owes millions to medical aid schemes and pension funds after it defaulted on paying the third parties. This is despite a team of experts sent by the provincial government weeks ago to work on getting the failing North West council back on track. Corruption, maladministration and payment of ghost workers have emptied the coffers over the years, while communities go for months without water and other basic services. The Ditsobotla municipality was dissolved by the national government last year after ANC infighting split the council into two, with each side having its own executive and rendering the municipality dysfunctional. Before the dissolution, the municipality was placed under administration several times. Municipal spokesperson Pius Batsile on Wednesday laid the blame on the outstanding financial recovery plan: “Ditsobotla is still trying to recover and has no money as things stand. Our collection rate is below 50, meaning residents are not paying for services. We expect the financial recovery plan to be finalised by the end of this month, after which, I believe, things will improve.”
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Getrude Makhafola at The Citizen (subscriber access only)
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