Enoch Mgijima assets on auction to pay debt
Loss of 44 vehicles to affect service delivery
ASSETS belonging to the cashstrapped Enoch Mgijima local municipality (EMLM) worth R58-million are set to go under the hammer on June 1.
The municipality’s assets, which include 44 motor vehicles, will be auctioned in Komani on June 1 at 10am in an effort to recover money owed to Milowo Trading Enterprise.
Milowo Trading took the municipality to court last year after it failed to pay a six-year debt for building the Sterkstroom Community Hall, among other projects.
The municipality owes Milowo R21 050 763 for work done for the municipality in 2012, but the debt has accumulated interest over the years and now stands at R58-million.
Wheeldon Rushmere and Cole attorneys represented Milowo on behalf of Lionel Trichardt and Associates.
The instruction to auction was issued to the sheriff on March 23 and on April 9, Komani sheriff, Jenny Coetzee attached 44 vehicles, which included 18 trucks, 14 bakkies, 2 TLB’s (tractor, loader, backhoes), a roller, grader and 10 cars.
Other assets that were attached were a fridge, microwave, water dispenser, seven computers, a cabinet and a generator.
Lionel Trichardt said the municipality owed Milowo more than R58-million when interest was added.
“Last year after the negotiations between Milowo and Enoch Mgijima, the amount was set at R21-million which the municipality promised to pay in instalments. They promised to pay R7-million a month and finish the debt in just three months,” he said.
Trichardt said when that did not happen, they approached the high court which granted them the writ of execution on March 20.
“All this time, the municipality did not contact us. Even today after the assets were attached, we did not receive anything from their lawyers. We just attached the assets and we will take them in May. The advert will be in newspapers on May 18 and the sale will be in June,” he said.
He said there are more assets that will be attached, like the community hall and the municipal offices, if the municipality failed to pay.
Robert Goss of Milowo Trading said he had been waiting for his payment for six years, but the municipality did not want to listen.
“I have been fighting to get my money since I started with the project. I spent all my money on the project and only God knows how I managed to keep my company going all these years,” he said.
Goss said even after they made arrangements with the municipality to pay the money in instalments, they never did.
“When I started building the hall, the foundation was laid. I had to use my own money to finish the job and had an agreement that they were going to pay me,” Goss said.
Komani resident Buzani Gcinisa said the community should not suffer because of the failure by the municipality to pay its debts.
“When the trucks and cars are taken, there will be no service delivery. As residents of Komani we can’t be punished for a hall we don’t know, which is not even used by people of Sterkstroom,” he said.
He said the only solution was to dissolve the municipality and use the councillors’ salaries to pay the debt.
“Service delivery will be affected by this and councillors must take full responsibility for not paying the money. They must just do the right thing and ask for the provincial government to dissolve this bankrupt municipality,” he said.
Cooperative governance and traditional affairs spokesman Mamkeli Ngam said they were guided by the Constitution which encouraged the department to provide support for the municipalities so that they could manage their own affairs.
“If there is a need, we don’t have a choice but to sit with the municipality and identify the areas where we can assist them. The municipalities have the right to generate income and revenue. In order to achieve that, they need to encourage people to pay for the services that they are rendered,” he said.
Enoch Mgijima municipality spokesman Fundile Feketshane said they would deal with the matter this week and give an update. —