The ward committee concluded that nothing changed to counter ELM ratepayers’ perceptions that ELM officials are still wasting and stealing rate payers’ money.

1. 1
Emfuleni still wasting & stealing money although bankrupt!
At the last Emfuleni Ward 9 ward committee monthly meeting on 12/09/2018,
Councillor Yvonne Coertze (Ward 9) invited Councillor Peter Verbeek (Ward 10) to
address some of the financial questions / concerns. Ward 9 includes Vanderbijlpark
SW1, SW2, SE1, SE7 and VUT. Verbeek is also a member of the Emfuleni Local
Municipality (ELM) section 80 Finance Committee.
In May 2018 the Auditor General (AG) released his annual local municipality audit
report which damned ELM especially for Unauthorised, Irregular, Fruitless & Wasteful
Expenditure. (UIFWE) After Johan Sipho Coetzee - Finance and Revenue Portfolio
member of the Emfuleni Ward 9 ward committee – analysed the AR’s report, he wrote
a Vaalweekblad article on 06/06/2018, confirming that the ELM ratepayers’
perceptions that ELM officials are wasting and stealing rate payers’ money were
vindicated.
So, what is the current status? Verbeek shared information discussed at the ELM
Section 80 Finance and Revenue Committee Meeting of 06/09/2018 and the Mayoral
Committee Meeting of 11/09/2018. The information is summarised in the graph below:
In the last three years ELM wasted nearly R2,1 billion of its resident’s money on
UIFWE!
This UIFWE information should be viewed in conjunction with the current state of
ELM’s finances. (Vaalweekblad article dated 12/09/2018 refers - Emfuleni’s poor
services mainly due to bad finances)
• ELM has a budget shortfall of approximately R141 million per month
• The 3 main expenses of ELM are: Eskom (R200 million per month); Rand Water
(R90 million per month) and ELM salaries (R85 million per month).
• ELM runs R51 million short per month with no money available for services
(Bankruptcy!)
The ward committee also discussed the step ELM’s leadership is taking to address
ELM’s financial troubles - obtaining large infrastructure-only loans (R1,5 billion initial
phase) from Development Bank of Southern Africa. It is not clear where ELM is going
to get the money to pay back this debt.

2. 2
To indicate how serious the ELM leadership is taking ELM’s financial position, some
top ELM officials (including the MMC for Finance) are allegedly paying willing female
interns salaries of up to R28,000 a month in return for sexual favours (exposed by the
Daily Sun newspaper on 28/08/2018)
When the ward committee did their monthly ELM Ward 9 service evaluation in
September the following problem areas were still prevalent: Potholes; Refuse removal
issues; Non-working street lights; Water leaks; Sewer leaks; Crucial ELM service
providers not paid on time; ELM bylaws not enforced; Selective non-paying residents
are not cut off; Nothing visibly changed since the Gauteng Province’s “Intervention” on
ELM in June 2018.
The ward committee concluded that nothing changed to counter ELM ratepayers’
perceptions that ELM officials are still wasting and stealing rate payers’ money.