KZN Legislature vows to enhance oversight on struggling municipalities
Fed-up residents vent their anger against against poor service delivery. The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs(Cogta) said they will do everything possible through the avenues available to perform our oversight role on failing municipalities.
Image: Boxer Ngwenya, The Star
The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) said they will do everything possible through the avenues available to perform an oversight role on failing municipalities.
The KZN municipalities came under the spotlight over management issues and the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA). The Auditor General South Africa (AGSA) presented the local government audit outcomes of the MFMA to Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) and the Portfolio Committee on Cogta, on Tuesday.
Nomalungelo Mkhize, the AGSA Business Unit Leader in KZN, said they had seen an improvement in some of the municipalities but were concerned about their reliance on consultants which amounted to R220 million, down R20m from the previous financial years.
Mkhize said irregular expenditure also decreased from R6.2 billion to R5.7bn. The AGSA gave a brief overview of the material irregularities that have been resolved, where appropriate action is being taken and where there was a process of assessing action. The AGSA also found that key infrastructure projects in the province were delayed because of poor management and some contractors were not qualified or capable of performing the required work leading to substandard work.
Marlaine Nair, MPL: KZN Cogta portfolio committee chairperson, said each municipality is required to submit an annual performance report. Nair said that apart from the AGSA audit outcomes, these reports give them a clear picture of what is going on in municipalities. Nair said that Scopa and Cogta are limited in terms of oversight of municipalities.
'I have requested these for the portfolio committee and we will scrutinise them as part of our oversight role. We have to hold Cogta to account for failing municipalities,' Nair said.
Kirsch Bezuidenhout, a senior legal advisor for Parliamentary Services, said that Scopa does not exercise any direct oversight over municipalities. Bezuidenhout said exercise of oversight extends to departments like Treasury and to Cogta who then in terms of the municipal pieces of legislation are supposed to exercise oversight over municipalities. He said each of these departments have different programs that are specialists in areas of how municipalities should function optimally.
Verna Benjamin, Cogta legal advisor said Cogta exercises direct oversight over local government and the Cogta portfolio committee will coordinate these engagements and hold the provincial executive to account in respect of their oversight of these underperforming municipalities. Benjamin said they need to start with the annual performance plan of the department.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Next
Stay
Close ✕
'We really need to engage and interrogate those department targets so that we can ensure that the end of the day there is going to be an improved achievement of targets as pertaining to the performance of municipalities," she said.
'The rationale here is to prevent these kinds of audit findings becoming repeated. While we strengthen our oversight over the department it will filter down to better performance in terms of the municipalities. Everybody wants to see a good outcome but we need to do so within our respective competencies. We want to see a turnaround strategy of ailing municipalities,' Benjamin stated.
zainul.dawood@inl.co.za
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
13 hours ago
- IOL News
R1. 4bn wasted: Sapo's epic failure
THE SA Post Office (Sapo) has been declared financially 'unsustainable' and riddled with systemic mismanagement. Image: Independent Newspapers Archives THE SA Post Office (Sapo) has been declared financially 'unsustainable' and riddled with systemic mismanagement after receiving its fourth consecutive failed audit opinion from the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA), sparking outrage from MPs who demanded answers on why the failing institution keeps consuming public money. AGSA's damning report, presented to Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on June 11, exposed: R152 million lost to fruitless and irregular spending in 2023/24, with R136 million dismissed without repercussions. A dismal 13% achievement rate on performance targets, despite a R381m bailout from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) for staff salaries. R86 million paid to business rescue practitioners (BRPs) and advisors since 2023, with little progress to show. No stable leadership, severe staff shortages, and repeated violations of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). AGSA officials delivered a stark verdict: Sapo is being propped up by taxpayer funds. 'Costs keep outstripping income. Debts are mounting, and the organisation isn't earning enough to survive,' said AGSA's Makhai Motshekga. ActionSA's Alan Beesley was more blunt: 'It's time to pull the plug. Sapo cannot be saved.' The BRPs, brought in July 2023, have already burned through R86m, including payments to consultants, tax experts, and lawyers. The EFF's Ntombovuyo Mente-Nkuna demanded answers: 'Who are these advisors? What have they actually fixed? We can't keep throwing money at a sinking ship.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ AGSA's Nathan Lawnet said the BRPs — from firms SNG and Legae — were 'qualified' but admitted survival depends on 'new income sources and partnerships,' which still don't exist. MPs pressed AGSA on Sapo's unaccounted-for assets, with Mente-Nkuna noting rural branch closures force grant recipients to travel far. 'How many buildings does Sapo still control? Why aren't they helping our communities?' she asked. AGSA confirmed Sapo owns properties and old equipment, but said almost nothing has been upgraded in years. Postbank's separation from Sapo — required by banking laws — has created confusion. Though Postbank is now audited independently, it still depends on Sapo's failing systems. ANC's Gijimani Skosana warned: 'Postbank once helped fund Sapo. Now, both are drowning.' Wasteful spending continues unchecked, with R200m squandered since 2021. Mente-Nkuna slammed the impunity: 'R136 million just written off? Who checked this? Who was held responsible?' AGSA admitted probes were lacking, blaming write-offs on debt settlements, not internal crackdowns.
IOL News
a day ago
- IOL News
Thirst for Justice: Billions wasted as taps run dry
Residents resort to fetching water, pushing buckets home on trolleys due to the ongoing water shortage in their area. With the committee vowing to recall the DWS for a deeper probe into water boards, South Africa's water catastrophe has reached a breaking point. Image: Oupa Mokoena/Independent Newspapers THE water crisis in South Africa is not looming — it's already here, fueled by systemic failures, corruption, and a dangerous blame game between national and local government. This sinking reality dominated the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) hearing, where the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) faced an intense interrogation over its financial mismanagement, R25 billion in unpaid municipal debts, and the collapse of basic service delivery. Minister Pemmy Majodina, making her debut Scopa appearance under the seventh administration, delivered a rather sobering admission: 'There is no crisis in bulk water supply — but at household level, the system is collapsing.' The root cause? A staggering 105 of the country's 144 municipalities are chronically underperforming, leaving millions without reliable water despite South Africa's dams operating at 98% capacity. The Minister was quick to deflect accountability, citing the constitutional division of powers. 'Whenever there's no water in a village, the DWS is blamed. But reticulation is a local government function,' she said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Yet the data presented by her department painted a damning picture of the consequences: Municipalities owe water boards R25bn, pushing critical entities such as Amatola, Lepelle, and Vaal Central to the brink of insolvency. Meanwhile, the DWS achieved just 70% of its performance targets despite spending 99.8% of its R21.4bn budget — a disparity Deputy Minister David Mahlobo attributed to 'multi-year infrastructure projects'. Corruption remains a festering wound. Over the past five years, the Department investigated 446 misconduct allegations, with 326 substantiated. Cases have been referred to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI – alias Hawks) and the SA Police Service (SAPS), but convictions remain elusive. The SIU's ongoing probes reveal even darker rot: R4.7bn squandered on the 'War on Leaks' programme, which deployed untrained youth to fix municipal leaks — a function outside the DWS's mandate. Another R17.9 million was paid to a consulting firm with 'no evidence of work performed', while 'water tanker mafias' sabotage infrastructure to profit from emergency contracts. The hearing turned incendiary when MK Party MP Khethukuthula Madlala confronted the DWS over its inertia. 'If the government waits for formal complaints while people are being shot, we've failed,' he said. Minister Majodina conceded the grim reality: communities are too terrified to report extortion and vandalism, fearing violent retaliation. 'We share the frustration, but our hands are tied,' she admitted, highlighting the limitations of a system that requires sworn affidavits to act against criminal networks. The Auditor-General's findings further eroded confidence. The DWS has received three consecutive unqualified audits with 'material misstatements', while 37 procurement deviations, including a water-saving campaign that ballooned to R4.4bn, double its budget, exposed glaring financial controls. The Water Trading Entity (WTE) is owed R18bn, with debtors now taking 573 days to pay, up from 451 days last year. The collapse of water boards emerged as a national security threat. While Rand Water and Umngeni were praised as 'world-class', entities like Amatola and Magalies are buckling under municipal debt and governance chaos. Vaal Central's potential failure would paralyse the Free State and Northern Cape. Court battles rage as defiant municipalities — some owing billions, 'take the DWS to court after receiving debt letters'. The DA's Peter Atkinson delivered a warning: 'At R12bn a year, it will take 40 years to fix water infrastructure.' The DWS's own estimates confirm R400bn is needed just for the worst-performing municipalities, excluding metros. While the Department touted public-private partnerships as a solution, Deputy Minister Mahlobo acknowledged a brutal truth: 'Investors won't touch bankrupt municipalities.' The EFF's Veronica Mente's closing remarks cut to the heart of the crisis. 'Thirty years into democracy, flushing a toilet is still a luxury,' she said, demanding that the DWS take over municipal water functions. 'This isn't just failure — it's betrayal.' As the hearing adjourned, Scopa Chairperson Sizwe Zibi fired a parting shot: 'It's still your problem to solve. I'm sorry.' With the committee vowing to recall the DWS for a deeper probe into water boards, South Africa's water catastrophe has reached a breaking point — and millions are left waiting for a government that cannot, or will not, act. Get the real story on the go: Follow the Sunday Independent on WhatsApp.
TimesLIVE
3 days ago
- TimesLIVE
'Millions wasted': Lesseyton sports field not built to spec, says public protector
There were procurement irregularities in the awarding of a R22.7m tender to Thalami Civils JV for the construction of the Lesseyton sports field by the Enoch Mgijima local municipality. Public protector Kholeka Gcaleka released the report on the findings of the investigation into allegations of improper conduct and maladministration by functionaries of the municipality relating to the construction of Lesseyton sports field in 2018. The Lesseyton sports field gained national notoriety in October 2021 after its unveiling was posted on social media and users immediately began questioning whether its R15m price tag constituted value for money. According to the specification dated March 9 2018, the construction was supposed to include the construction of a grassed athletic track, soccer/rugby field, netball, tennis and volleyball courts and grandstands. However, these facilities have not been constructed. Investigations found that the soccer/rugby field was not constructed according to the specifications and the electricity has not been connected. In the investigation, Gcaleka observed that the ward councillor signed the completion certificates and accepted the construction of the sports field as satisfactory, despite the municipality not receiving any value for money. According to the findings, the total amount of the awarded bid exceeded the budgeted amount of R18.7m that was approved by the department of co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) in the 2017/18 financial year. The awarded tender exceeded the budgeted amount by more than R4.7m without evidence that the municipality sought additional funding or approval from the municipal council, as required under the Municipal Finance Management Act. Further, the report found that the tender advertisement had two different closing dates and was not placed on three different publicly accessible platforms as required by the municipal supply chain management policy. The advertisement period for the tender was shortened from 30 days to 14 days, and the reason provided was that the construction of the sports field was an emergency. Gcaleka found that the municipality's definition of emergency in this regard was not in line with the definition in terms of the municipal supply chain management policy. The evidence suggests that two bid evaluation processes took place with the first process resulting in the first bidder being the preferred bidder, whereas the second process used a different formula provided by the bid adjudication committee and culminated in Thalami Civils, which was the fourth-highest scoring bidder, winning the tender. She also found that the allegations of irregularities in the management of the contract and a lack of proper oversight on the construction project by the local and provincial governments, resulting in no value for money paid, were substantiated. The public protector observed that the ward councillor signed the completion certificates and accepted the construction of the sports field as satisfactory when the municipality did not get any value for money as evident in this investigation. Gcaleka recommended that the municipal manager of the municipality ensure the reconstruction of the Lesseyton Sports Field in accordance with the bid specifications dated March 9 2018.
