GEORGE NEWS - A press statement issued by the Good political party accused the DA-led municipality of dereliction of duty and claimed that more than R100m in National Treasury funding had been forfeited due to mismanagement.
Good councillor Rosa Louw said the municipality had once again failed to utilise the National Public Transport Grant as intended, resulting in a second consecutive loss of funding earmarked for the George Integrated Public Transport Network (GIPTN).
However, the municipality has strongly rejected these allegations.
CFO Riaan du Plessis said the claim that George had "forfeited over R100m due to mismanagement" is baseless and incorrect.
According to Louw, the consequences of the alleged failure are far-reaching, including stalled infrastructure upgrades, lost job opportunities and the ongoing exclusion of Haarlem and Uniondale from the Go George bus service. She further criticised the municipality for what she called an overreliance on consultants, instead of strengthening internal capacity and filling critical posts.
Du Plessis explained that no funds had been withdrawn owing to negligence or poor financial controls. Instead, the rollover request for certain Public Transport Network Grant (PTNG) allocations was declined on technical grounds linked to the national 'rollover of a rollover' rule, a Treasury regulation that applies uniformly across all municipalities.
"Most of the funds referred to were already committed and spent on approved GIPTN projects," Du Plessis said, adding that this has been confirmed by both National Treasury and the Western Cape Mobility Department.
Du Plessis said the non-approval of the rollover would not affect the community, as the projects continue and will be funded by alternative mechanisms. He confirmed that George had maintained full compliance with Treasury requirements and submitted all documentation and appeals as prescribed.
"These appeals," he said, "have been formally supported by provincial authorities. There is no evidence to support claims of dereliction of duty, and the municipality acted proactively, including using bridge financing to avoid delays and ensuring full compliance with reporting and grant conditions. The municipality remains committed to transparent, responsible use of public funds and to the continued rollout of the GIPTN."
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