The City of Tshwane has rejected claims by the DA that recent budget adjustments are worsening service delivery failures, accusing the party of misrepresenting the city’s financial position and attempting to appoint blame for infrastructure problems. Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya’s spokesperson Samkelo Mgobozi said the DA was using exaggerated claims and deliberate misrepresentation after a media briefing by former mayorCilliers Brink. Brink had linkedprolonged electricity outagesand financial strain at the metro to recent budget decisions, suggesting hundreds of millions were being cut from departments, including electricity services.
Mgobozi disagreed with the claims, saying the city was not implementing blanket cuts of R777m, as alleged by the DA. He said departments were asked to identify savings amounting to about R316m on non-strategic line items and non-strategic overtime in line with the Municipal Finance Management Act. “The back pay obligation was not provided for in the original budget.
The city refused to honour agreed increases at the time and instead pursued a court exemption. It lost the case,” Mgobozi said. Mgobozi said the original liability of about R450m had escalated to about R1.5bn due to delays and litigation, and renewed calls for legal action would risk further instability without guaranteeing a different outcome.
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The metro also rejected claims that Tshwane was facing a withholding of funds by National Treasury. Mgobozi said the city had responded to correspondence regarding equitable share transfers and Treasury had since confirmed its satisfaction, releasing the December tranche in full. “There is no ongoing threat, no withholding of funds and no unresolved engagement with National Treasury,” he said.
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