FINANCE MEC Francois Rodgers is o a campaign to ensure that municipalities in the province are financially stable and capable of delivering services to their communities.
The Department pff Finance announced on Monday that starting in June until December 2025, MEC Rodgers will lead the implementation of a Cash Management System (CMS) at seven municipalities in KZN.
One of the municipalities set to benefit from this initiative is the Impendle Local Municipality. It was revealed recently that the municipality failed to pay wages and benefits in full and on time. This situation has raised alarm among employees, who are concerned about the impact on their livelihoods and the municipality’s ability to manage its financial obligations effectively.
The CMS aims to resolve a myriad of financial management challenges at the local government level, including:
- Implementation of debt collection and credit control policies.
- Overspending.
- Management and utilisation of conditional grants.
Ultimately, the department said, CMS aims to improve service delivery, ensure timely payments to service providers, and reduce budget deficits at the local government level, among other initiatives.
It said this week, MEC Rodgers will convene a high-level gathering involving Mayors, Municipal Managers, Chief Financial Officers, and Project Champions. The targeted municipalities for the implementation of the CMS are:
- Ugu District.
- Richmond.
- uMngeni.
- Nkandla.
- iMpendle.
- uMfolozi.
- Ulundi.
KZN Treasury is constitutionally mandated to monitor as well as support the financial functions at municipalities. The seven municipalities were identified as potential beneficiaries for the CMS after assessments by the KZN Treasury.The system may be extended to other municipalities based on assessments.
MEC Rodgers stated: “KZN Treasury is empowered by section 5 of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) to perform oversight, monitor the financial functions, as well as to provide technical support and guidance to assist municipalities by instilling effective financial management practices.”
“The team at KZN Treasury and I are determined to act in accordance with our constitutional obligations so that we may succeed in the mission to establish an ethical and capable state. Municipalities are the closest sphere of government to communities. KZN Treasury is determined to empower and create capacity at municipalities as part of its mandate,” he added.
THE MERCURY
