Some members of the Ekurhuleni caucus are planning on instituting a motion of no confidence against the city mayor, Sivuyile Ngodwana.
This comes as the council members accuse the mayor and MMC of finance Nkululeko Dunga of hiding the auditor-general’s report.
According to the ANC caucus chief whip, Jongizizwe Dlabathi, the party remained concerned that both the audit report for 2022/23 and the adjustment budget were not before the council meeting.
“We trust that there will be finality into the audit report by the Office of the Auditor-General (AGSA). To us, such a report is critical for financial accountability, performance assessment and the extent to which we are complying with the supply chain management prescripts.
“Furthermore, the failure to present the adjustment budget bothers on our ability to make the necessary decisions that must ordinarily close the gaps, especially where there are zero provisions Wards IDP priorities,” Dlabathi added.
He further said that the ANC was extremely disappointed that the MMC failed to present a convincing financial report which sought to be discussed as resolved by the council.
“The current financial position of the city is heavily constrained, and with a high liquidity risk, given that we are on 15 days cash on hand. This is due to amongst others, the lack of a sustainable and effective revenue enhancement strategy and initiatives.”
Responding to the allegations that he’s hiding the report, Dunga said that the municipality is dependent on the auditor-general’s office to furnish it with the report.
He continued to say that the situation was not unique in the council as they previously had to write to the Treasury informing them of the challenges they were having in receiving the report.
“Even last year we had to write to the national Treasury to inform them of the late submission of the auditor-general’s report. We tabled that particular report in February as it arrived late to us,” Dunga explained.
The MMC dispelled allegations that the city’s financials were in tatters, saying that currently, the metro’s financials were in a surplus of R898 million.
Dunga said this was a great standard compared to what the previous administration had during this time, which stood at about R350m in surplus.
Meanwhile, ActionSA’s Siyanda Makhubo said lawfully the metro has until Wednesday (January 31) to issue the report, and failure to do that they would take further steps as the party.
Makhubu said: “We are going to write to the premier and the Cogta MEC to get to the bottom of this.”
The Star
Sipho Jack
sipho.jack@inl.co.za