Cape Town – It has emerged that the Western Cape has allocated R8.6 million to boost investigation capacity into claims of corruption within the province’s municipalities.
This was revealed by Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC David Maynier, who presented the province’s budget to the legislature on Tuesday.
Maynier announced a package of R217.6 billion over the medium term as part of his “war chest to defeat Covid-19”. This breaks down to R72.3bn in the 2021/22 financial year, R72.6bn in 2022/23 and R72.7bn in 2023/24.
“We will spend R217.61bn over the medium term across five districts and 30 municipalities in the Western Cape,” he said.
Maynier also listed how much money would be spent across the five districts over the medium term:
- R24.95bn in the Cape Winelands District
- R10.77bn in the West Coast District
- R18.94bn in the Garden Route District
- R8.19bn in the Overberg District
- R3bn in the Central Karoo District
- R151.76bn in the City of Cape Town
“We know that municipalities have experienced revenue shocks and have responded by protecting revenues and reducing costs. While municipal finances are broadly in good health, a number of municipalities remain in severe financial distress.
“So, we will continue to work closely with vulnerable municipalities to manage risks and improve their financial stability,” Maynier said.
“However, we will not hesitate to take action if there are allegations of corruption in municipalities in the Western Cape. And, for that reason, we have allocated R8.6 million to strengthen the forensic investigation capacity of the local government department,” he said.
Just last week in a briefing by the provincial Local Government Department to the legislature it was revealed that three Western Cape municipalities were being investigated for corruption.
The Hawks are following up on reports that have emerged from three of the Western Cape’s 30 municipalities – Bitou, George and the Central Karoo District, which have been investigated for corruption in the past year.
Department head Graham Paulse said there were more and more whistle-blowers coming forward with allegations of corruption and maladministration in municipalities.
“Some of the cases are still being investigated and are sub judice, so we won’t be able to divulge all the details as this session is on an open platform,” said Paulse.
Cape Argus