Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says municipalities owe R1.7 billion in pension contributions deducted from employees' salaries but not paid into pension funds, describing the practice as one of the key reasons National Treasury withheld funding from 69 municipalities.
Governance expert and political analyst Dr Bernard Sebake says municipalities that repeatedly fail to implement recovery plans and meet their constitutional obligations should expect tougher intervention, including the possibility of being placed under administration.
The remarks comes after the National Treasury decision to temporarily withhold funding from 69 municipalities over financial non-compliance.
Sebake, Dean of Students at the Central University of Technology, Free State, said municipalities that fail to meet their financial and service delivery obligations risk constitutional intervention if they cannot recover.
"The main problem is that these municipalities have generally failed to meet their own objectives," he said.
