Johannesburg mayor proposed completing visible projects before elections — Daily Maverick
In Johannesburg, South Africa, Mayor Dada Morero proposed during a mayoral committee meeting identifying unfinished city projects that could be funded and completed before the local elections on November 4. This was reported by Daily Maverick, citing a recording of a 53-minute meeting on September 17.
In the recording, Morero said that 50 days remained before the elections and named the rebuilding of Lilian Ngoyi Street, sports complexes in Ivory Park and Orange Farm, as well as a clinic requiring a small amount of funding for completion, among the priorities. He also suggested that members of the mayoral committee discuss the prioritization of unfinished projects separately, without administration officials, and provide political recommendations.
City hall's position
The mayor's spokesperson, Khathutshelo Mulaudzi, denied that politicians were taking over operational financial decisions. According to her, the discussion took place as part of a weekly financial meeting where political leadership and officials monitor cash flows, financial commitments and unfinished facilities.
Mulaudzi said the separate meeting would have helped the political leadership align priorities before speaking with the administration, but financial decisions are not made at such meetings. She added that the proposed separate meeting ultimately did not take place, and that spending and the acceleration of work must comply with the approved budget, the integrated development plan and procurement rules.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Finances and call for an investigation
The discussions took place against the backdrop of the city's liquidity problems. Acting chief financial officer Lufuno Mashao said that the accumulated unresolved liabilities across city entities amounted to about 10 billion rand, while negative cash balances were forecast for September. According to him, an expected short-term Standard Bank credit facility of 3 billion rand was meant to help ease some of this pressure.
Mulaudzi noted that the status, terms and exact purpose of the credit facility still require confirmation. She also stressed that the mayor does not have the authority to independently allocate credit funds, as the allocation of funding belongs to the administrative functions of the city manager and chief financial officer.
The opposition Democratic Alliance said it would ask Gauteng's member of the executive council for cooperative governance, Jacob Mamabolo, to investigate possible violations of the Municipal Finance Management Act. The party's Johannesburg caucus leader, Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku, believes that possible political interference in financial and administrative functions could create risks for the city's audit.
