27 June 2014
015 307 7248
www.bulletin.us.com
@laeveldbulletin
R4
“Wait, Eskom!
The Greater Tzaneen Municipality is — yet again — experiencing a cash flow problem. The Bulletin obtained information that a decision was taken to postpone payment due to Eskom, in order to be able to pay staff and councillor’s June salaries. In our first round of enquiries we made little progress as rather vague statements were made ab,out the municipality’s bank account and cash flow troubles. We then presented the GTM with a detailed written enquiry and received the following statement from the GTM’s spokesman, Mr Neville Ndlala, yesterday (Thursday). We found the first paragraph of the statement to be wide open to interpretation. However, we offer the statement verbatim:
The Eskom account is still within 30 days payment in terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003 (MFMA). Greater Tzaneen Municipality is experiencing cash flow problems like any other public institution, which is under control and salaries will be paid as normal when due to the employees on monthly basis, and creditors will be paid within 30 days according to the MFMA (2003). Salaries have already been paid this month of June 2014, and paid on time to all employees and councillors. The cash flow of the Greater Tzaneen Municipality is caused by clients not paying their accounts on time. There are also state institutions that owe GTM some substantial amounts, and we have been struggling for some time to get these institutions to pay. We are working on strategies
Bulletin
Rural areas: FREE • Platteland: GRATIS
Fear lessl y the tr uth
We have to pay salaries first...
and intervention to compel these institutions as well as individual residential clients to pay their accounts. One strategy that we have already implemented as a pilot is the pre-paid electricity in Florapark suburb. We are also exploring the feasibility of expanding our revenue base, through the introduction of paid services in our rural communities in an effort to recoup costs of delivering services in those communities. We are also engaging the institutions that are failing to pay both at management and political levels and we are hopeful that these interactions will yield results. The national treasury has also been roped in to assist and they have already began engaging all public institutions owing the municipality. We will strife to continuously encourage our residents to pay for municipal services regularly and in time. The Financial position of the municipality is under control and will improve during July 2014.
This then is the GTM’s official reply to our questions about the state of affairs. We will further pursue matters such as the wide-scale theft of electricity, especially in the rural areas. Two other matters became clear in the past weeks, since we started making enquiries about the municipality’s finances. The two matters are: • The acting municipal manager, Mr Obbey Mkhombo, is doing surprisingly well in introducing order and (especially) financial discipline, and he is praised by senior management for working very hard to get the GTM back onto a solid road to recovery, and • There seems to be growing concern about the chief financial officer, Ms Norah Lion. It is said that she is rather isolated and that neither staff nor the public get on well with her. It is also said that she leaves the impression that she is not heart and soul into her job. — Francois Aucamp francois@ bulletin.us.com
Ms Refilwe Maloba, second from the right, is seen here with Mr Nyiko Sono (Basic Education in Mopani District) and Mss Violet Mathonsi (Mopani District Municipality’s Speaker) and Jane Rababalela (acting Mayor of Mopani District Municipality). Full report on page 3. Mense was diep ontsteld en erg boos toe ‘n renoster-teelbul vroeër die week in die Mopanidistrik nie ver van Tzaneen af nie, deur stropers in die rug geskiet en gelaat is om deur die nag ‘n erge lyding te moes beleef. Die dier was verlam en hy is met pangas wreed in die gesig gekap, duidelik om hom dood te kry. Sy fris horing is vroeër met toestemming afgesaag,
maar het weer ‘n stuk uitgegroei. Op versoek van die eienaar en om verstaanbare redes word die eienaar se besonderhede en die presiese ligging van die plaas, verswyg. ‘n Veearts het bevind dat die pragdier vankant gemaak moes word. Dit blyk toenemend dat die oorlog teen stropers verloor word en drastiese stappe is nou nodig om die slagtings te verhoed.
Orde ondersoek MTN says sorry; 2 prokureurs se service ought to sake nou be better in Tzn 5
3
Eise teen 2 koerante kom na berigte 3
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