The City of Tshwane’s draft Rural Development Plan does not comply with the requirements of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) and risks being a dangerous unfunded mandate that undermines fiscal discipline.
Although the Plan has noble objectives, such as integrating rural communities, protecting agricultural land and upgrading infrastructure, the Metro is clearly ignoring statutory requirements.
The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) identified the following serious shortcomings:
• No alignment with the annual budget or the Integrated Development Plan (IDP). The Plan even claims there are “no financial implications” while proposing major capital projects such as the Rietvlei Water Treatment Plant.
• No Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plan (SDBIP) is attached, rendering the Plan unfunded and unenforceable.
• It lacks measurable performance objectives or indicators, making accountability impossible.
• Infrastructure proposals without confirmed revenue sources equal a classic recipe for unfunded mandates.
• Urgent expenditures are proposed without an adjustment budget or council resolution.
Rural communities deserve more than rhetoric. They deserve development that is lawful, funded and feasible.
The Freedom Front Plus will not endorse a plan that undermines the MFMA, so, the party calls on the Tshwane administration to revise this draft, ensure compliance, and table a plan to the Council that will both survive financial scrutiny and instil public trust.
The Freedom Front Plus supports rural development and spatial justice, but insists that all strategies should be fully funded and legally sound.
The public participation process cannot proceed without a legal and financial compliance report confirming the Plan’s viability.
