Municipality must announce financial statements

The Warrenton branch of the civil rights organisation AfriForum has brought an application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act No. 2 of 2000) (PAIA) to obtain financial records of the Magareng Local Municipality.

The intention thereof is to determine what the local authority is doing with taxpayers’ money to subsequently determine how the Municipality’s debt burden has grown in such a manner that Eskom wishes to disconnect the community’s electricity due to non-payment.

AfriForum furthermore requested that the qualifications and job descriptions of senior officials in the Municipality must publicly be made known to determine if the officials comply with the minimum requirements of their various jobs.

“The community is extremely dissatisfied because their town is one of the towns in the Northern Cape that owes Eskom money. The amount is approximately R38 million and we would like to know why Eskom was never paid, seeing as residents have been paying their electricity accounts to the Municipality monthly,” says Nanette Flemming, Chairperson of AfriForum’s Warrenton branch.

Give AfriForum’s Warrenton branch the mandate to take on the Municipality: SMS “Warrenton” to 32532 (R1).