Debt Burden and Write-Offs Reveal Depth of Tshwane Metro’s Crisis

Grandi Theunissen FF Plus leader in Tshwane

By Grandi Theunissen
Freedom Front Plus Tshwane Leader

The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) expressed serious concerns about the Tshwane Metro’s request to write off a further R1,5 billion in debtors as unauthorised expenditure.

The mere fact that this massive amount is labelled “unauthorised” serves as an admission that it was never budgeted for.

This exposes the so-called “funded budget”, which the Mayor boasted about, as a deliberate misrepresentation of the City’s actual financial position.

If accounting tricks must be employed to remove billions from the financial statements in an effort to balance the books, it means the budget was never genuinely funded.

This step by the ruling ANC/ActionSA/EFF coalition amounts to gross manipulation of the Metro’s budgeting process to create a false image of stability.

Furthermore, the current collection rate stands at only 82%, compared to the projected 90% on which the “funded budget” was based.

The Freedom Front Plus submitted a written question to Executive Mayor Nasiphi Moya to establish the truth behind the Metro’s debtors’ book, which reportedly amounts to R13 billion.

Through its enquiry, the Freedom Front Plus seeks to determine whether the Metro even knows the total rand value of residents’ accounts currently under formal dispute and what impact it has on the debtors’ book.

If the Metro cannot accurately indicate this amount, it means its reported assets are likely overstated by billions of rand – which comes down to a fiscal mirage.

Apart from today’s request for write-offs, the Metro has in the past twelve months recognised nearly R6 billion (25%) of its debt burden as fictitious or uncollectable.

Tshwane residents deserve an administration that is open and honest about its finances and issues accounts correctly, not a coalition trying to ensure its own survival through financial manipulation.

On 4 November, Tshwane residents have a chance to set things right by voting for the Freedom Front Plus to be part of a responsible government that will not try to cook the Metro’s books.