VEREENIGING - The Emfuleni Municipality’s financial crisis is deepening.
Opposition parties are calling for the budget to be re-tabled, claiming it was unlawfully passed.
Some even want the council to be dissolved.
But it's residents who pay the price for this political warfare.
READ: Despite court case, Emfuleni continues to pollute the Vaal River
Emfuleni is failing to collect waste, and many of its roads are falling apart.
"It's not just flood water. It's sewage water as well. Stormwater drains are blocked, the sewerage drains are still blocked as well as the issue with electricity," said resident Schunees Ferendale.
"I feel this municipality should be dissolved; there is no other way."
Residents and businesses are at their wits' end.
READ: Emfuleni Municipality residents hit with massive bills
“The electrical problems we are having, and water problems are huge, so it affects business," said Kevin Jackson of the Vaal Business Corporation.
"The best thing is to dissolve this municipality; there is no other way.”
Parties also accuse the council speaker of unlawfully passing an adjusted budget last week.
The municipality has dismissed the claims, blaming politics.
"Look, the budget has been approved democratically after the third attempt by the council," said Emfuleni municipal spokesperson Makhosonke Sangweni.
"The case against the Speaker is a matter of politics and political parties who are dissatisfied with the process.
"I think it's their constitutional right to do so, but the budget has been democratically approved according to the NMFA and the constitution," he said.
- eNCA's Manqoba Mchunu reports.