The North West provincial government said it has sent a team to the troubled Ditsobotla Local Municipality, to help it get its affairs in order.
The municipality is broke and has failed to pay salaries for the month of May sparking an outrage among workers.
Local Government MEC Nono Maloyi made the announcement on the sidelines of the ANC’s National Working Committee meeting in Rustenburg over the weekend.
Maloyi said the team would also help the municipality to come up with revenue collection methods.
“We have sent a team to Ditsobotla from both Cogta and the provincial treasury to go and assist. Our biggest problem in Ditsobotla is revenue collection.
“The municipality is not collecting from consumers, so we have said what the team must do is to ensure that they assist them with an enhancement program, which they’re doing. Also, Ditsobotla owes Eskom, it owes the water boards a lot of money.
“We are assisting Ditsobotla to comply, as we speak Ditsobotla for now is owed over 50 million by the provincial and national departments. Starting from next week, we have to ensure each and every department pays Ditsobotla what is owed to it to meet its obligations. So those interventions are there, there is a team which is permanently in that municipality.
“I have also in my capacity as the MEC for Cogta, deployed a Chief Director from the department, to go and assist administratively. She is there everyday to ensure that there’s permanent stability in Ditsobotla. “It’s not going to be easy but we will get it right.
It is alleged that the struggling municipality also owes millions to medical aid schemes and pension funds.
The municipality had been put under administration several times due to corruption and fraud.
