DA demands local-govt inquiry
2005-04-04 18:21
Cape Town - The Democratic Alliance repeated its call on Monday for a judicial inquiry into local government in the Western Cape, particularly councils run by the African National Congress.
Robin Carlisle of the DA said: "It is of interest that DA councils do not get qualified audit reports and do not break the law.
"The councils do not have councillors and senior officials with fingers in the tills, do operate municipal surpluses and do serve their people better in virtually every aspect of service delivery."
The auditor-general's report on the financial statements of the Cederberg municipality for 2003/04 was qualified in 11 respects.
Property evaluation roll not available
These included debtors overstated by at least R14 562 445, unauthorised expenditure of R4 510 836.
The rate income of R9 553 410 could not be confirmed because the property evaluation roll had not been available for the past three years.
In addition, there was no detail in respect of R389 299 of consumer deposits for services, and income from rates and services was unknown.
Carlisle said the A-G's report stated: "there is a serious concern regarding the council's financial ability to continue as a autonomous service providing entity without financial assistance".
He said: "This is extremely serious. The report not only confirms that Cederberg cannot meet its commitments; it says that Cederberg will not be able to continue delivering services unless alternative finance is found."
- SAPA