Local government is Transplantate WarZone | The citizen

One of the trending videos of former minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize on social media is that he interrogates a mayor at Matjhabeng district in the Free State for an item that appears in their budget.

The confused officer and the financial officer of the municipality have no idea why there is an R18 million item entitled “Bonuses” on the budget.

It appears that some stipends that are intended as R3 100 for officials of the Expanded Public Works Program (EPWP) has become 10 times that, R31,000 a month in the pockets of corrupt officials.

The minister responsible for the public works and infrastructure, the dean Macpherson of the DA, has immediately suspended funds for the EPWP for the municipality to allow investigations to eradicate the corruption.

The sad part of the decision is that it is a program that is intended to offer employment to mainly unemployed young people and as a result, the suspension means that some earning individuals will suffer because of the decision aimed at eradicating corruption.

Although praise on MKHize must be accumulated as cooperative administration and traditional affairs (Cogta) Parliamentary Commission Chairman that went to the municipality of the Free State with a supervisory visit, it must be noted that this is mainly what was missing in the government in the past 30 years.

The country can celebrate that corruption is stopped to prevent further waste of funds, but the ANC should not only regard this as democracy in action, but as an indication of what has led to downfall at national level.

Also read: The appeal of the municipality of Matjhabeng was rejected in the midst of financial challenges, collapse of services

This is the type of supervision that should have been in the government as standard. That is what the parliament is for, to supervise daily.

Instead of doing this, the parliament became a battlefield to protect wandering and delinquent leaders who have been exposed as a lack.

It seems that the elections of the local government will have more significance next year than last year’s general elections that heralded the era of coalition politics at national level.

So, as the Municipality of Matjhabeng, should shake in their boots in the prospect to be started for mismanagement of funds and corruption.

But history has shown that voters are being cheated to choose leaders who first pay at the expense of delivering much -needed work for communities.

Local municipalities throughout the country become what the Constitution meant for them: the face of the government for the man on the street.

Also read: Macpherson suspends all EPWP funds to the municipality

That is where MKHIZE and Cogta strive for exposing the rot in Matjhabeng.

Unfortunately, because the arrival of the Government of National Unity (GNU) has closed many cranes at national level that were previously available and are not for tendering to plunder, they have now reversed their cunning manners and corrupt practices to plunder state funds at the local government.

It is no surprise that forensic auditors such as Mpho Mafole in the municipality of Ekurhuleni and countless others were killed in a brutal and alarming way to hide the corrupt acts of the political departments.

The coal area of services has become a war zone that threatens the foundation of services: honesty in dealing with public funds.

The threat issued by Minister of Finance Henoch Godongwana to the mayor of Joburg Dada Morero is also proof that the GNU has even created those within the ANC for the fact that waste expenditure and unauthorized expenses do not require an external party to stop.

It can be stopped by civil servants who do the jobs for which they were employed to do in the first place.

Read now: Almost 40 municipalities that are confronted with treasury sanctions on mismanagement