The Tshwane reality: No mayor, no money for October

Council business at a standstill as politicians fight.

If the election of a new mayor in Tshwane is not concluded on Wednesday (9 October) or very soon thereafter, the city may be without money to pay its October bills.

The city council is set to convene on Wednesday to elect a mayor after the ousting of the DA’s Cilliers Brink on 26 September. The political situation is however extremely fluid, with council meetings that are frequently disrupted by political parties and there is no guarantee that the meeting will go smoothly.

ADVERTISEMENT CONTINUE READING BELOW Read: Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink ousted as coalition collapses ANC benefits from too many ‘kingmakers’ with big egos in SA

Brink led a multi-party coalition with a paper-thin majority which was lost when ActionSA decided to leave.

ActionSA now hopes to achieve a majority together with the ANC and VF+, on condition that it gets the mayoral post.

It is, however, doubtful whether the VF+, a staunch supporter of Brink at a local level, will play ball – in which case the EFF is a possible coalition partner.

Listen: Ousted Tshwane mayor: ‘Between the ANC, EFF and ActionSA – there is no plan’

Whether the ANC will be prepared to give the mayoral chain to another party or serve with the help of the EFF remains to be seen.

The DA has broken off negotiations with the ANC to ensure stability in other metros unless Brink is reinstated, but by Tuesday afternoon, the two parties had not reached an agreement.

In the meantime, council business is at a standstill.

R800m lifeline not yet approved

Jacqui Uys, former MMC for finance under Brink’s leadership, told Moneyweb on Tuesday afternoon that the metro is waiting for the approval of an R800 million overdraft facility from a commercial bank.

When she vacated office, the bank indicated verbally that it had been approved, but the written approval was still outstanding by Monday afternoon.

Uys says whichever way, the council needs to attend to the matter urgently.

If approved by the bank, the council must officially approve the agreement, including the interest rate and other terms, before any drawdown can be made.

If not approved, the council must give direction to the administration about alternatives, seeing that the budget for October relies on the availability of the money.

She explains that it is normal practice for municipalities to settle their overdrafts by the end of the financial year on 30 June as this is required by law, then apply for new facilities for the new year.

‘Standstill’ dragging on

A senior council official who asked not to be named told Moneyweb that council business has been at a standstill for almost a month now, and the acting mayor – ActionSA’s Dr Nasiphi Moya – can do nothing about it without a mayoral committee.

The city council works according to a set cycle. Officials generate reports that must be signed off by the relevant member of the mayoral committee (mayco). The reports are then tabled at mayco – where the decision-making powers are vested in council itself – then go to council, where only a mayor can table them.

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Under Brink the mayco used to sit every week, except the last week of the month, when the council meeting takes place.

At the council meeting in September, only one report was served, along with the motion of no confidence in Brink. That was to facilitate staff salary increases for the next five years.

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Seeing that the mayco was disbanded with Brink’s ousting, three weeks have gone by without any mayco meeting – and even if a mayor is elected on Wednesday, it may take another week for the new mayco to have its first meeting.

No meetings, no approvals

“The reports are piling up,” says Uys.

Among those not dealt with in September due to the political instability is one to approve payment plans with residents with very high arrears.

Read:

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The plan is to write off some or all the arrear debt and get them back in the payment system on a clean slate so that they are able to pay their current bills as they become due, says Uys.

Another is a report proposing the write-off of debt for water services in Hammanskraal before clean water starts flowing soon.

“We promised that we would write off their water debt,” says Uys, against the background of decades of problems with poor water quality due to inadequate water treatment services.

Brink told Moneyweb his mayco kept a close eye on billings and collection.

“We looked at it weekly to enable us to take swift corrective steps if necessary. That helped us to keep up with our current payments to Eskom throughout the winter when the bills are almost double.”

If that is allowed to slip, it could weaken the city’s position in its current litigation with Eskom, he says.

“Officials need direction from political leaders. Tshwane does not have a strong management culture.”

Read: City of Tshwane is sinking deeper into debt R629m blow to cash-strapped City of Tshwane

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