The Matjhabeng Local Municipality was made to sign an acknowledgement of a debt letter, and submit a payment plan to repay R67 146 000 that it received from the Department of Human Settlement.
The municipal manager was authorised to approve the payment plan of R1 722 222 to the department for 36 months (about three years).
On 23 July, the Matjhabeng Local Municipality received correspondence from the Free State Department of Human Settlement stating non-compliance.
A R67 million grant the municipality received was to be utilised for the dispute resolutions on title deeds and rectification of erroneous transfers and for the utilisation of upgrading bulk infrastructure of informal settlements.
The municipality ring-fenced the transferred funds in a separate municipal call account.
The funds were available until the municipality was inundated with court orders in September and October 2023. This, subsequently, resulted in the attachment of the municipal bank account, call accounts, and investment accounts.
“The funds that the municipality must pay back, could have been used for the upgrade of Matjhabeng’s dilapidated infrastructure, among others,” says Coreen Malherbe, DA caucus leader, Matjhabeng Local Municipality.
