Last week, the Zoutpansberger printed a report on the appalling state of the municipality’s finances. Reaction on the matter was received from a number of people

In his reaction to the debacle, the TAU’s Mr Stephen Hoffman expressed his disgust with the report and indicated that this style of doing things is nothing new. He states that the municipality does not have the know-how or inclination to implement legislation. The budget presented recently by the municipality does not comply with guidelines and provisions either, and the municipality has become totally dependent on the equitable share allocation from the State. Hoffman indicates that the Minister of Finance will be requested to intervene. He calls the adoption of the budget unlawful, as no quorum was present at the meeting. He did, however, offer residents some recourse, viz. to join the Soutpansberg Ratepayers Association and to support their efforts on behalf of residents.

The chairman of the Soutpansberg Chamber of Commerce, Mr André van Niekerk, in his turn states categorically that it seems that “the municipality shows a blatant disrespect and disregard for any accountability and good corporate governance. This is evident from the fact that, despite the prior year’s qualifications, no efforts were made to rectify the situation. What worries me is the fact that they get away with it in an increasing way. If this audit report was released about any private company, the directors would have been in jail already.”