By The Knysna Bulldog
Knysna has a new municipal manger and we know next to nothing about him because
the Town Council has not seen fit to give us any information on his career and
qualifications.
We know that his name is Ombali Phineus Sebola and that he was once the municipal
manager of the Modimolle-Mookgophong Municipality. Ever heard of it? Well it is a
local municipality in the Waterberg area of Limpopo.
We don’t know when he was in charge and that is important because the municipality
does not have a good name with the Auditor General. In the municipal year 2017/18 the
AG issued a disclaimer (the worst possible result) and another disclaimer the next year.
Then came two years of qualified audits so it is fair to ask if Mr Sebola was in charge
for the years of disclaimer or a little later when things may have improved?
In the first disclaimer year the M-M municipality recorded a deficit of R176.8 m, then
R137m in the next year and the deficit now stands at just R26m. So what role did Mr
Sebola play in the changing fortunes of the municipality?
One could also look at changes in the municipality’s liabilities or debts. In the first
disclaimer year the figure for current liabilities was R553.8m but that has now
increased to R1.275 billion. So what is going on? Has the municipality borrowed
money to reduce current deficits, stopped paying its accounts or have more liabilities
been discovered now that auditing has improved?
The figures above come from the M-M municipality’s own website but, given the AG’s
opinion, we cannot guarantee that they are right.
So where does this leave the residents of Knysna? Well, it doesn’t give us any reason to
be excited about the new appointment or even confident. After all, Limpopo is not a
place where there is a tradition of excellence in municipal management.