PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Increasing debt, deteriorating service delivery, "out-of-control expenditure", high performance bonuses and the circumvention of protocols at Bitou Municipality according to the Plettenberg Bay Ratepayers' Association, are some of the concerns they have highlighted in a report compiled in an attempt to motivate the Western Cape government to intervene in Bitou's governance.

This comes after the release of a damning forensic report about two weeks ago, which Knysna-Plett Herald reported on in last week's edition.

'Bitou's coffers a magnet for opportunists'
"Its [Bitou's] coffers, which should be full to overflowing, act as a magnet for opportunists who seek to loot them and, as a result, governance in the area is characterised by self-seeking, corruption, nepotism and greed. The community is rife with rumours of salaries being padded, houses being misallocated, tenders being twisted, grants being misdirected, back-handers being demanded, and allowances being abused," the report states.

According to the ratepayers, these rumours have a "solid foundation".

One of the aspects the report highlights is that of Bitou's revenue collection "spiralling out of control".

'Rates, taxes are not being collected'
According to the municipality's mid-term budget adjustment the "total debtors outstanding amount to R269 045 000" – an increase of R70-million from the previous year's debtors. According to the report, householders' debt comprises 96% of the total. "In effect, rates, taxes and service charges are not being collected from most of Bitou's swelling population."

The report states that in the meantime the municipality "is continuously increasing the operating cost to the detriment of the cash position", which has decreased from R140- to R90-million in the reported period.

Service delivery
About service delivery the report highlights "major concerns" relating to "the fact that the engineering services, electrical and roads, and community services departments, are recorded as underperforming significantly. "They constitute important components of service delivery – they represent the tangible face of municipal performance. In the same vein is the underperformance on capital expenditure, which is dramatic – a mere 25% of the budget has been spent."

Expenditure
The report further indicates that Bitou's expenditure is "out of control". Some of the examples highlighted include postage costs amounting to nearly a million rand when two years ago the figure was just over R50 000. "Printing and stationery costs, which last year stood at almost R30 000, have shot up in this financial year to almost half-a-million rand. 

Fuel costs have jumped from just over R1-million three years ago to over R8-million today. No one needs to be told that this far exceeds the amount that might be represented by the inflation of the petrol price."

The report also highlighted hiring expenditure which is said to stand at about R7-million compared to the R2.5-million bill three years ago. "Included in the charges is the cost of a car hired for the mayor [Peter Lobese] in breach of National Treasury protocols that, over about three months, amounted to nearly R200 000 and the provision of a security detail, obtained from independent contractors in a process forensically condemned as 'fruitless and wasteful expenditure', that over a nine month period totalled well over a million rand."

Performance bonuses
Until 2017 no performance bonuses were payable, but since then over R8-million has been paid out annually, the report states. "The council is, as far as we know, under no obligation to make these payments but gratuitously line pockets, both their own and municipal employees', by doing so. 

This liberality with ratepayers' funds is echoed in a resolution by council late last year voting to give a 20% 'scarce skills allowance' to Bitou's top six municipal executives, whose salaries already approach or exceed the prescribed ceilings. 

Since the jobs these people do and the skills they deploy are entirely conventional, the resolution speaks volumes for the council's reckless handling of ratepayer funds."

Protocols
When it comes to protocols, a financial expert who considered the accounts and surrounding documentation for the report, concluded that the "prescribed procedures, processes and internal controls are truly broken".

The latest financial statements, other reports and the ratepayers' own investigations showed among others that councillors and officials make no proper declaration of business interests, and nepotism and conflicts of interest appear rife, according to the report.

"Expenses are run up by riotous living in places such as Down to Earth and Castleton and, even when entertainment is legitimate, claim forms are gerrymandered to reflect non-claimable items (such as alcohol) as food."

The report also found that municipal houses are leased out "at peppercorn rents to officials who are unqualified to receive the perk". "It is suspected they do not declare the benefit for tax purposes."

Another finding includes that funerals are funded out of municipal coffers and "uncontrolled discretion is exercised in funding projects such as Grants in Aid".

'No control over opening of tenders'
The report claims that invitations to tender are framed so as to prefer a favoured contender over more efficient providers. "No control is exercised over the opening of tenders. In addition, tenders are awarded to fictitious or dormant entities and the requirement of tax clearances goes unenforced," it says.

"Nepotism and maladministration are rampant. A few instances suffice: the mayor's brother-in-law, who doubles as a 'political adviser', is able to obtain salary increases, housing, fringe benefits and allowances at levels that are higher than even he has the temerity to request.

"The Speaker's wife, previously dismissed by the municipality for padding her pay cheque, has been rehired in a post that she is woefully ill-equipped to handle," says the report.

"A company owned by the municipality's local economic development manager earns huge amounts out of events it organises for the municipality. The senior manager of security is retained, at an inflated salary, to provide protection for the mayor (three personnel are so deployed) and deputy mayor (he has two guards) even though he, the manager, we believe lacks the requisite qualifications."

The municipality had not replied to KPH's invitation to respond before going to print.

'We bring you the latest Plettenberg Bay, Garden Route news'