After DA’s Mpho Phalatse was given the green light by the Johannesburg High Court to return to her job as mayor of the City of Joburg, the ANC in the region has accused her of maladministration.
On Wednesday, the ANC accused Phalatse of collapsing the City of Joburg. ANC regional spokesperson Chris Vondo said: “The hands that are holding onto our beloved city have made budget assumptions that have been overstated and resulted in putting pressure on the liquidity in the city.
“As the ANC Greater Johannesburg region, we raised liquidity risks but the hands refuse to put any plans to address this crisis. The bubble is about to burst.”
Vondo said the ANC has noted that investors are no longer willing to lend money to the city, putting the blame on the DA and its coalition partners.
“This decision will affect the city in rolling out the much-needed infrastructure. It is the poor who will be deeply affected. Based on the current inability of the DA-led administration to manage the city’s finances, we call upon all investors to rethink the manner they look at Joburg.
“Rather be patient and wait for the credible leadership of the ANC and its coalition partners to return to the seat of government,” he said.
Vondo said the state of the city’s finances was in a critical position, which the ANC believes will soon lead to a total financial collapse.
“Mpho has failed to collect revenue for services rendered, such as electricity and water. This has led to significant underspending on both capital expenditure and operational expenditure meant for delivering services to the people of Joburg.
“Revenue underperformance for the financial year ended June 2022 [shows that] the city’s billing for services was below budget by R3.4-billion while overspending on the purchase of these bulk services was R342-million.
“The city achieved an operating deficit of R1-billion against a budgeted operating surplus of R1.1-billion, resulting in an underperformance for the year of R2.1-billion.”
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here
