The Abaqulusi Local Municipality, which is anchored in Vryheid in northern KwaZulu-Natal, is breathing a sigh of relief after the National Treasury on Friday released its July equitable share, which runs into millions.

The mayor of the IFP-led municipality said the share was mistakenly withheld because by the time the money was due, they had already met most of the conditions set out, which included paying Eskom for the bulk electricity supplied.

Mayor Sifiso Mkhwanazi also said they had complied with directives to rein in fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

On the release of the equitable share, Mkhwanazi said the money was deposited into their account on Thursday and said they don’t believe that the National Treasury had malicious intent when it included them in the list of 69 municipalities and withheld the share.

“We are glad as Abaqulusi that our equitable share has been deposited as per the agreement between ourselves and the National Treasury. We are also glad about the intervention of the provincial Treasury in getting involved to get the impasse resolved as soon as possible,” Mkhwanazi said.

Mkhwanazai also confirmed that they are in talks with the provincial Treasury regarding technical assistance to get them out of the challenges they are currently facing.

“In this regard, I am pleading for cooperation, more especially the way we communicate issues,” he added

Last week, the National Treasury confirmed that it had received a letter from the municipality that its share had been mistakenly withheld, and it was going to release it. In the main, the National Treasury withheld the monies, citing financial mismanagement, the passing of unfunded budgets in metros like Joburg, and failure to pay service providers on time.