The FF Plus won a second consecutive victory for tax payers over the Ngwathe Local Municipality when the Bloemfontein High Court ruled in a settlement that the Municipality must reverse its unlawful decisions to, among other things, write off millions of rands of irregular expenses.
According to the court order, the municipality unlawfully wrote off millions of rands of irregular expenses during a council meeting in October 2017 seeing as their decision deviated from certain stipulations of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
The expenditure was written off without a proper investigation into the irregularity thereof, which is required by Section 32 of the MFMA. The meeting was also convened in an unlawful manner – in contravention of applicable legislation.
After the meeting, the FF Plus brought an application to the Free State High Court in order to force the Municipality to reverse its decisions.
Last week, the FF Plus also won a victory for three tax payers in the Ngwathe Local Municipality district after the party lodged a complaint with the Public Protector regarding extraordinary high accounts. The PP found that the accounts were erroneous as a result of the Municipality’s negligence and that the accrued amounts had to be written off.
Municipalities are guilty of not complying with the relevant rules and legislation and this is to the detriment of the tax payer and service delivery. The FF Plus does not hesitate to hold municipalities accountable.
These two victories send a clear message to municipal managements and the ANC government: the FF Plus will not hesitate to ensure that they comply with legal stipulations and are accountable to residents.
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