There is fear that the municipal council will again unlawfully approve an unfunded annual budget on 24 May.
The processes to be followed for municipal annual budgets are clearly set out in the Municipal Financial Management Act 56 of 2003 (MFMA). The law stipulates that the mayor must present the budget to the Council before 1 May of each year and, immediately afterwards, make the annual budget public with the supporting documents. During this period, the local community can submit representations in relation to the budget. Before the annual budget is approved, the submissions of the local community and relevant government departments must be considered. Thereafter, the Mayor is expected to respond to all submissions made. As published in the Frankfort Herald of 17 May 2024, notices did appear in the local media in which the public was invited to inspect the budget-related documents at all municipal offices and public libraries for a limited time. Mafube Business Forum (MBF) visited the municipal offices and public libraries in all Mafube towns in the hope of obtaining the budget documents, but nothing was available. Advocate Mothusi Lepheana, Acting Municipal Manager, continues to ignore the written requests addressed to him. It is the view of MBF that the budget process at Mafube Local Municipality (MPM) is a farce, and the budget that will most likely be accepted by the municipal council on 24 May, without attention being paid to the legal requirements. It can be expected that the budget will once again be unfunded, with no consequences for the officials and Council of Mafube, nor for the provincial authorities who stand with their arms folded. The only consequences will be for the community of Mafube, who will continue to suffer from poor service delivery. After two years of mandatory intervention by the province, there was no progress. Yet the workable plan proposed by MBF and approved by the Administrator continues to be inexplicably ignored. Municipal budget process is carefully explained here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOfLc3xW5g8 MBF invites residents, business owners and taxpayers to visit our offices at 18A Church Street, Frankfort on Mondays to Thursdays from 08h30 to 16h00 and Fridays 08h30 to 12h00. Call or send a WhatsApp message to Marina on 079 145 4295. Visit our website www.mafubebf.org and follow us on Facebook
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