Plett, the Bitou Municipality is on its last financial legs and still the mismanagement, lack of transparency and financial bleeding continues.
Why has this happened to our beautiful town and how did it get so bad?
Many residents are not aware that the Ratepayers are fighting tooth and nail against a wave of corruption and mismanagement on multiple levels.
DID YOU KNOW: The ratepayers contribute R370-million of the R620-million budget, so we are not insignificant and we can force change.
Some of the issues we are tracking that costs money and time to defend are:
- bloated municipal salaries for the municipal manager, CFO and top four senior officials
- massive asset write-offs and poor debt collection
- dodgy tenders and irregular appointment of suppliers
- abuse of the mayoral discretionary fund, overtime, and EPWP workers
- rapidly deteriorating financial position of Bitou Municipality and dramatic increased levels of fruitless, wasteful and irregular expenditure.
- deteriorating levels of service delivery
- excessive expenditure on township tourism, festivals, and seminars/congresses
- rent-free accommodation for overpaid municipal officials and family of the mayor.
- illegal use of a mayoral vehicle and drivers
- lack of progress with the tourism by-law
- rampant and frivolous legal expenses
- total lack of job creation
- abuses of housing and land grants
- R8.8-million on Learnerships and Internships (euphemism for “family and friends”?)
- 16-fold increase in postage (election related slush fund?)
- seven-fold increase in fuel in two years (being stolen or sold?)
- quadrupling of Congresses and Seminars, which are discouraged by National Treasury
