The Democratic Alliance (DA) will ask the Gamagara municipality to urgently establish a task team to develop a Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) implementation plan after the mid-year review revealed that only 6% of grant funding has been spent to date.
Last week, the Auditor General also revealed that Gamagara underspent the MIG with 67,93% in the previous financial year, with a rollover request denied. This robbed residents of R6,383 million of investments in critical infrastructure upgrades, depriving them of access to basic services. The Olifantshoek community, which endured four months of crippling water shortages from September to January this year, is a case in point.
The R23 million worth of MIG funding availed for the 2024/25 financial year has the potential to drastically improve sustainable water provision and address ongoing sewerage spills. A repeat failure to utilize these funds will be unjustifiable, bordering on a human rights violation.
The DA notes the long outstanding appointment of a Director of Basic Services and Infrastructure on 6 January this year, after a previous suspension left the position vacant since June 2024. His appointment must translate into drastically improved grant expenditure and we will be monitoring his performance closely.
The municipality must not, however, take for granted that his placement alone will bring about effective utilisation of the MIG.
The DA will submit our request for the establishment of a dedicated MIG task team to support the new director, to the municipal manager. With just six months until year end, Gamagara must pull out all the stops to achieve 100% MIG expenditure through effectively financing infrastructure projects outlined within the Integrated Development Plan (IDP).
Gamagara residents deserve to experience the benefits of the R23 million MIG injection, not the recurring forfeiture of funds and basic services.