Unfunded municipal budgets: Councils promise, residents pay dearly
An unfunded budget is not a misfortune that befell a municipality. It is a council voting to spend money it knows will not arrive. Last year, 116 councils did it. Seventy-seven had done it in every year of their term.
Last year, 116 South African municipalities adopted unfunded budgets, committing R288.17 billion they knew would not arrive. This is not a misfortune; it is a council voting to spend money it knows will not materialize. Themba Dlamini, a husband, father of four, pastor and chartered accountant, witnessed a dog bite his left leg below the knee in his town, illustrating the dire consequences of such actions.
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