NW municipal finances in a mess, as door closes on Mahumapelo
Former North West Premier Supra Mahumpelo is leaving the province's municipal finances in a mess, according to a report by the Auditor-General.
Mahumapelo announced his resignation on Wednesday following numerous calls for him to step down.
Community members went on the rampage in April, shutting down the province's capital Mahikeng, demanding Mahumpelo step down amid allegations of corruption and poor service delivery.
Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu released the local government audit report on Wednesday which recorded an increase of 71% in irregular expenditure.
The 22 municipalities in the North West contributed 15%, or R4.2 million, of the total irregular expenditure in the 2016/17 financial year.
"We are also particularly concerned about infrastructure delivery and maintenance as well as the use of grants in the North West," lamented Makwetu.
Of the billions allocated to the province for infrastructure development, half of the money was used to fund operational expenditure.
This resulted in 28 of 56 the projects being behind schedule or completed in spite of poor project management.
"One such project was the Rustenburg Rapid Transport System, with an estimated cost of R3 billion. Construction started in 2012 and the first phase of the project was expected to be completed by December 2016. But, phase 1C of the project was still only about 40% complete by June 2017," says Makwetu.
While law enforcement is investigating whether any official in the province committed fraud, Makwetu's office says 11 municipalities signed contracts arranged by other state organs without complying with regular supply chain management regulations, amounting to R414 million.
"Furthermore, fraudulent credit cards were opened I the name of the municipalities at Madibeng and unauthorised monthly deductions were made from the municipality's bank account".