Go ahead for financial plan

Councillors want progress reports

The Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality (EMLM) council adopted the recently reviewed financial recovery plan (FRP) by provincial and national government during a virtual special council meeting on Monday.

EMLM administrator Monwabisi Somana presented the report on the reviewed FRP, indicating that local management, provincial co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta), and provincial and national treasury were involved in the process of reviewing the FRP.

Somana said they had planned to start the process of reviewing the FRP when the strict lockdown regulations had been lifted, and brought it to council for adoption. There has since been a court

“action where the Grahamstown High Court took a decision prompting us to implement the FRP and report our progress to it on a quarterly basis. We agreed on an out-of-court settlement with the civil umbrella organisation Let s

’ Talk Komani [LTK] on the matter and there are timeframes we need to adhere to in implementing the FRP as a means of monitoring us.”

Somana said there were no major changes in the FRP, other than the alignment of court dates with the court order requirements. The FRP, as it stands and as we “report to the court, has been signed by the MEC for Cogta, Xolile Nqatha, in terms of the guidelines that guide all FRPs.

What has been outstanding is “for council to own it as reviewed. Due to LTK not believing that

“the municipality was capable of acting in a prudent way, we were forced to commit on dates by which action would be taken.

He called on EMLM to view the matter as urgent.

DA councillor Sakhumzi Mkhunqe supported the FRP presentation by the administrator.

Mkhunqe and United Front councillor Aaron Mhlontlo called for monthly progress reports from the administrator.