Civil society hopping mad over looming Tshwane grants cut

Civil rights movement, #NotInMyNameInternational, says the DA-led coalition government in Tshwane does not care about the needs of the majority of South Africans.

The movement’s Secretary General, Themba Masango, was reacting to the news of the National Treasury’s plans to cut R629 million grant money in the Tshwane due to non-performance and non-compliance.

Masango says these funds are meant for services such as the urban and township development as well as informal settlement upgrades in the metro. Some of the money under threat is also meant to be utilised in the public transport network system.

The capital city was notified on Monday over the looming grant reduction and has until the same day next week to motivate why the funds should remain in its coffers.

Tshwane’s Mayor, Cilliers Brink, has said the metro takes this risk very seriously as it knows that national government is in a similar position as the cash-strapped city and is looking to claw back money from municipalities ahead of the Finance Minister’s budget speech that’s scheduled for next week Wednesday.

“We will give a full account of our situation to the National Treasury and outline plans,
to spend our full capital allocation. This response is due by the end of the week, along with many other municipalities”.

Taking to social media, Brink also sought to correct “untruths” regarding the National Treasury’s announcement after some social media users suggested that R2.6 billion in grants were withdrawn from the city by national government.

There’s no R2.3 billion story here! As the leaked letter indicates, no decision been made to take away Tshwane’s grant funding. National Treasury is asking the city to give an account of the unspent portion, and to motivate why a PORTION of the grants shouldn’t be forfeited.

— Mayor Cilliers Brink (@tshwane_mayor) February 13, 2024

The news about the pending withdrawal of funds by the Treasury comes just days after Brink announced the city’s financial rescue mission. He says the city will increase revenue and reduce expenditure in the range of about R1 billion per month for the next six months.

[WATCH] Tshwane’s Financial rescue mission: We have a R23,3 billion debtors’ book that we can turn into cash. @CityTshwane pic.twitter.com/8qtYxB0h25

— Mayor Cilliers Brink (@tshwane_mayor) February 12, 2024