Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality can hardly raise a third of its salary bill from the monthly revenue collections because a growing number of residents can no longer afford to pay for services due to unemployment.
This was revealed by Premier Sisi Ntombela when she met with the local business community following increasing concerns over the worsening level of service delivery in the area.
The situation is so bad that some operators have indicated they might have to relocate to other towns or provinces due to the erratic availability of water and electricity as well as the deteriorating state of the roads, among other concerns.
“The salary bill of Maluti-a-Phofung that they are paying every month is R46-million,” said Ntombela during her engagement with the business community from the eastern Free State.
She said, further to that, the municipality also has to pay third parties about R21-million for staff pension, medical aid and other things.
“But the money that they are collecting in order to do everything is only R15-million,” the premier pointed out.
She was accompanied by several MECs their heads of department who committed to address the issues raised by the community.
Ntombela lamented the deteriorating situation in the municipality but was quick to point out that some residents and businesses absconding to pay when they had the means were not helping the situation.
“It’s very difficult to lead . . . especially after COVID-19. It’s very difficult to lead when the economy is like this,” she said.
“It’s very difficult to lead when people are starting to lose hope. It’s very difficult to lead when people . . . even those who can, are just prepared to get everything for free.”
Business and Community Development Association chairperson Nelson Moekoa said they anticipated change after the meeting.
“We are happy the premier came and we are happy with the commitments made by the team she brought,” he said.
“But this was just one step in the right direction. We are going to have continuous engagements.”
Some of the issues raised include growing unemployment, deepening poverty and inequality.
The scarcity of water and poor electricity provision topped the list of concerns as these shortages made “it difficult to grow the local economy and create sustainable employment”.
It’s believed over 11 000 jobs have been lost in the area due to poor water and electricity supplies since 2016 which saw the closure of many businesses. – Staff Reporter