R9m bill to set up Rand West City
Grant used to ensure smooth merger of Westonaria, Randfontein
The merger of the troubled Westonaria and Randfontein municipalities will cost the taxpayers nearly R9-million, which will fund the setting up of a new organisational culture, workshops and branding, among others.
The new local municipality, Rand West City, has been granted more than R8.6-million to fund the costs of new municipal boundaries determined by the Municipal Demarcation Board, according to Gauteng finance MEC Barbara Creecy.
The new boundaries came into effect after the 2016 local government elections.
Rand West City spokesman Tshidiso Tlharipe said the grant was also a “transformational budget”.
Tlharipe said the funds would be used for branding of the new municipality and creating a new organisational structure from the two merged entities. He said part of creating a new organisational structure and outlook would entail workshops for employees.
The municipality has been given the grant with stringent conditions that it should be used to implement the recommendations of a job evaluation report produced towards the seamless integration of Westonaria and Randfontein local municipalities into one entity.
Creecy will require a written undertaking that the municipality will use the funds for the intended purpose as stated in the funding agreement.
The merger was confirmed by the Gauteng cooperative governance and traditional affairs and human settlements department in February 2015.
A technical team of specialists to support the merger was established to report to the department’s top officials.
The department will ensure that there are no duplications and that the grant is only used for costs associated with the transformation and merger process.
The Westonaria and Randfontein municipalities were hit by violent service protests in the run-up to and after the elections.
Earlier this year, Sowetan reported that the mergers of several municipalities across the country, including the volatile Vuwani in Limpopo, had cost nearly R53-million including funding relocation of employees and golden handshakes.