Vhembe District Municipality

26 January 2015

Alpheus Malivha SACP 6th District Congress has on several junctures engaged Vhembe District Municipality (VDM) on institutional transformation, governance and popular democratic participation towards a developmental state. The Party has observed over a period of time the casual responses, stiff approach yielding unproductive outcomes on our call to both the administrative and political leadership consider adversarial material conditions affecting the society of Vhembe and specifically as an ANC-led Alliance municipality to open up and allow constructive engagement.

It is our assertion that both the administrative and political leadership are calculatedly auctioning the ANC led municipality to the neo-liberal agenda and counter revolutionary fascists and giving them space to take our National Democratic Revolution some steps rearward. The SACP`s observance of VDM inexplicable and unfathomable state of governance rapid deterioration, which it repudiated to engage us, confirm the embedded maladministration and malicious governance approach, contrary to our strategic objective to state power to secure working class hegemony deserving to be rooted out: -

Developmental State, Leadership And Terminate State Tenderization

Divergent to mandatory alliance focus on deepening transformational agenda of administrative component and good governance en route to developmental state by desisting from state tenderization of goods and services, it has been confirmed by the Auditor General (2013-13) Report that the municipality continued depending on Consultants at the cost of R4.2m to prepare Annual Financial Statement which produced a Disclaimer. Despite this, the municipality appointed Consultants again to prepare VAT returns at a cost of R7.6 m. With the engagement of these Consultants, AG Report raises grave concerns about limited strong internal control systems on Consultants.

Decent Job Creation

While the country is on the outcry for decent jobs, the municipality is casually sitting with vacant posts, which if acted upon, more permanent decent jobs can be created, however, both the administrative and political leadership continue on Consultants dependent path to enable capital monopoly to accumulate from the municipality funds. The municipality also could not absorb employees from Department of Water Affairs for many years, which again reflect bad leadership on our ANC government, while it is individual who brought in New Tendency to ANC. It was not surprising that in the month of January 2015, the municipality partly paid certain employees and politicians their salaries, while failing to negotiate overdraft because Treasury refused to release money on genuine reason of VDM`s failure to comply with Financial Report legislative requirement. This is a serious violation of our country`s progressive labour laws against the working class. This simulated the previous Limpopo Provincial government under Mathale, which was placed under administration, which placed departments under the highest bidders biased towards the New Tendency who tenderized the state.

Financial Viability And Good Governance

The municipality has been downgraded from Grade 4 to 3. The catastrophic VDM financial performance and audit since 2006/07 to 2012/13 with the exception of 2009/10 where it got Qualified Audit Report, the municipality has been getting Disclaimers Audit Reports which is a great concern on the lack of governance and absence of leadership. Again, AG confirms this incomprehensible situation of the municipality financial health which cannot be rated as an outcome of unreliable financial statements submissions.

The district cannot make available any alternative leadership on procurement means like promoting Co-operatives towards building business development, Industrial Development Zones (IDZ), etc, as there is no conscious effort. VDM ended incurring R139,747,207 which is accounting for 17% of its budget in irregular expenditure as a result its Supply Chain Management not always complying with legislative requisites.

Service Delivery Performance

VDM as Water Services Authority and largely a rural district, it has sustainably failed to provide quality water services, even in areas where there are existing facilities like boreholes machine and failed to control its own officials to periodically pump water machines for villages as there is no action on Water Provision Action Plan. The call on dealing with the manner Nandoni Dam management to serve the communities in the proximity fell on deaf ears.

We Therefore, As Alpheus Malivha SACP 6th District Congress: -

Call for unity of the entire working class of Vhembe to fight Corruption in its different colours, shape and size and any form of exploitation and division, which this municipality has contributed to erode.

As a result of contravention of S (137) Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) by VDM, including but not limited to:

• Failure to make payments its employees and promised Students through Mayor`s Bursary
• Where municipal expenditure exceeds revenue as AG could not make any opinion on its financial,
• Where a municipality is operating with a deficit, as it failed twice to get Bank Overdraft
• Where disclaimed audit opinions are expressed by the Auditor-General (AGSA).

The devastating VDM finances performance and audit since 2006/07 to 2012/13 with the exception of 2009/10 where it got Qualified Audit Report, the municipality has adopted a routine status Disclaimers Audit Reports as glorious award. A disclaimer is defined as by AG as “the situation where the accounts of the municipality were too deficient in essential detail for the Auditor General to form an opinion as to the financial viability of the municipality. AG Audit Report reflects regressive and degeneration of the Council which disable us to defend, advance and deepen National Democratic Revolution under the current Council for us to socialism.

There is compelling evidence that VDM defied metaphysic (formal logic) as it has exhibited contraventions as fashionable with no consequences in a sustainable for some years now, as eloquently revealed above. Consequently, this has severely compromised service delivery and widespread violations of citizen`s constitutional rights and not improvement the lives of Vhembe people.

It has also resulted in public servants and politicians not being held adequately accountable for their action or inaction, which has contributed to this unacceptable state of affairs.

Subsequently, as Alpheus Malivha SACP 6th District Congress call for Limpopo COGHSTA Department MEC to invoke Section 139 (1) (c) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act No.108 of 1996) on VDM as this municipality has dismally unsuccessful to accomplish its executive obligations by

• dissolving the Municipal Council and replace it by appointing an administrator until a newly elected Municipal Council has been declared elected as the exceptional circumstances warrant such a step.
• Call for instituting corrective measures against any person who has flouted applicable legislation, policies or any relevant regulation and this should not left to working class employees only who are victims of political expediency, in terms of MFMA. Demand report on consequences meted against any person as a result of past AG Audit Reports
• Highly commends the President of SA, J.Z Zuma for having taken this noteworthy and decisive decision to institute an investigation on VDM, one of the only two municipalities in Limpopo Province on its procurement activities, misappropriation of funds and contracts awarding activities.
• Demand that investigation should not be limited to finances only, but also on unachieved yearly Predetermined Objectives, like VDM as the Water Services Authority failing the society of Vhembe to get quality water services while there is plenty water sources;
• Call for urgent Water Provision Action Plan as a rural areas rely mainly on it for food security as the priority
• Demand to know whether there was money paid to the first appointed contractor /s on water distribution from Nandoni Dam Project to other districts and what happened to it.
• Circumstances that led to the elitist development and allocation of sites along the Nandoni Dam and all economic activities exclusive of communities in the proximity of the dam and report on environmental implications
• Call our alliance partners like SAMWU and others to mobilize the working class to come forth and report any form of corruption and fight against it robustly, as well as penetratingly raise any form of exploitation of workers.
• Urgently call the government departments concerned and VDM to decisively intervene and resolve without any delay the Malamulele Municipality Demand Question.

Issued by:

Enq: Cde Rudzani Skinjar Ramugumo
Alpheus Malivha SACP 6th District Congress Secretary
079 125 6283 or ramugumor@gmail.com