The African People’s Convention (APC) in the North West is concerned the National Treasury’s decision to freeze equal share funding to 15 municipalities in the province could affect residents through service delivery failures. The Treasury’s decision came after ongoing non-compliance by the municipalities, which included unpaid debts to the SA Revenue Service, pension funds and water boards and failure to present council-approved funded budgets. The municipalities affected by the freeze are: The Treasury has previously said some municipalities failed to meet basic financial management and accountability standards, including instances of irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, as reasons to freeze funding.
We stand with the people of North West and will continue to advocate for accountable leadership and the restoration of dignity through proper service delivery The APC said it supports fighting corruption and mismanagement but argued freezing equitable share funding without urgent support could have unintended consequences. “Equitable share funding is meant to ensure the delivery of basic services, payment of municipal workers and support for indigent households. Freezing the funds will risk collapsing fragile municipalities and punishing communities for failures,” the party said.
Officials implicated in financial misconduct must be held accountable and face criminal charges, it said. “We stand with the people of North West and will continue to advocate for accountable leadership and the restoration of dignity through proper service delivery.”
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