Makana Municipality's inability to pay their lawyers has resulted in the local authority failing to defend itself in various actions. The embattled institution has become a free-for-all, insiders say, as everyone seeks to take advantage of the already battered municipality.
Makana Municipality's inability to pay their lawyers has resulted in the local authority failing to defend itself in various actions. The embattled institution has become a free-for-all, insiders say, as everyone seeks to take advantage of the already battered municipality.
Makana can't even afford to pay their legal representatives. Rumours have reached bizarre proportions within the institution, with some people saying creditors intend to attach the city hall itself.
A source within City Hall said some creditors intend to attach municipal fire trucks and the municipal finance buildingl among other assets. Suspended employees may also take advantage of the gap to return, unlikely to face legal opposition.
Last Friday the acting chief financial officer Busisiwe Khumalo sent a report to the special council meeting on the auditing category, 'unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure'. The report revealed, among other things, that the Mayor's Office had bought three bulls, without following supply chain management processes.
The bulls cost the municipality R63 840 000 – but no advertisement had been published on the municipal website. In total, R37 354 472.96 was not accounted for, according to the latest report. The Council, while sunk deep into debt, is also seeing serious cable theft from their electrical stores.
Khumalo said the theft had been reported to the police. Cable worth R 61 202.00 has been stolen in the current financial year.
