For the sixth consecutive year, the FF Plus did not support the adjustment budget of the Emfuleni Local Municipality (Evaton, Sebokeng, Vaal Oewer, Vanderbijlpark, Vereeniging) because of the administration's incompetence and failure to manage the Municipality effectively.
One obvious reason is Emfuleni's enormous debt to Eskom, which currently amounts to R4,4 billion.
In addition, many businesses were forced to close their doors and others relocated to neighbouring towns and cities due to the terrible condition of Emfuleni's infrastructure and its poor service delivery.
Residents loyally pay their rates and taxes, but the money is never paid to bulk suppliers, like Eskom and Rand Water.
The two-year term of the current administration team, led by Gilberton Martins, came to an end yesterday.
And now the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Lebogang Maile, must appoint a new team that will attempt to turn the Municipality around.
It will be the third team appointed since COGTA intervened at the Municipality in June 2018.
There has since been no improvement in Emfuleni's financial crisis or service delivery.
This once again serves as proof that placing a municipality under administration, or partial administration as in Emfuleni's case, does not guarantee a positive outcome, instead, it only adds to the instability and mismanagement.
Against this backdrop, the FF Plus cannot support an adjustment budget that is to taxpayers' detriment.
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