Parliament, Friday, 4 October 2024 – The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) will visit several municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal next week to discuss governance and service-delivery issues, among other things. The committee will also meet with communities on their challenges in accessing water.
Committee Chairperson Dr Zweli Mkhize said this oversight visit is one of several planned for dysfunctional municipalities with poor audit outcomes across the country.
The Auditor-General (AG), in the 2022/23 audit outcomes for municipalities, found that out of the 257 municipalities in South Africa, only 34 obtained clean audits, 110 obtained unqualified audits with findings, six obtained adverse audits, and 14 had disclaimed audits. There was some improvement in 45 municipalities, while 36 municipalities regressed.
“Among the challenges many of the municipalities face,” said Dr Mkhize, “are asset management, basic disciplines of financial reporting, non-compliance with supply-chain and procurement regulations, inadequate skills in infrastructure management, poor management of cash flow, over-reliance on consultants for production of the annual financial statements, and inadequate consequence management for transgressors. Against this backdrop, the committee resolved to conduct oversight of dysfunctional municipalities to assess the challenges and how these municipalities can improve with the help of relevant stakeholders,” he said, adding that these issues serious implications for service delivery.
The committee has prioritised the eThekwini Metro, Msunduzi Local Municipality (Pietermaritzburg), Ugu District Municipality (Port Shepstone), and the uMhlathuze Local Municipality (Richards Bay). The eThekwini Metro, for example, has been plagued with numerous challenges, such as water supply interruptions, poorly maintained and damaged infrastructure due in part to the 2022 floods, a worrying decline in tourism numbers to the city, port efficiency concerns, and crime.
On Tuesday, the committee will meet with the municipality and the Presidential Working Group to assess the progress in governance and financial sustainability, water and sanitation provision, safety and security, tourism revitalisation, disaster response, and communication and stakeholder management. The committee will also meet the municipality’s community and stakeholders (ratepayer associations, traditional leadership, business, and labour unions) and visit water treatment sites.
On Wednesday at the Msunduzi municipality, the committee will meet with the municipal leadership to discuss governance issues, including the functionality of municipal public accounts committees and ward committees. Other issues for discussion include financial management relating to billing and revenue collection, the state and maintenance of bulk infrastructure and non-revenue water losses, as well as service delivery issues pertaining to water and electricity, among other things.
On Thursday, committee members will be divided into two groups. One group will visit the Ugu District Municipality, and the other will visit the uMhlathuze Local Municipality. In Ugu, members will visit the iZingolweni command reservoir and discuss the challenges of accessing reliable drinking water. The committee will also assess the municipality’s progress in rehabilitating infrastructure damaged by the 2022 floods and follow up on recommendations made by the Ad Hoc Joint Committee on Flood Disaster and Relief. In the uMhlathuze municipality, members will meet the MEC with amakhosi and community representatives. The group will also meet representatives of Richards Bay Minerals and the Dube traditional council and businesses.
During the oversight visits, the committee will have daily meetings with communities, including ratepayer associations, traditional leadership, businesses and labour unions about access to water in their areas. The provincial departments of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the Provincial Treasury will also brief members on the support provided to the municipalities.
See the full programme here: https://tinyurl.com/yc5x3mfx
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON COOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AND TRADITIONAL AFFAIRS, DR ZWELI MKHIZE.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact:
Name: Alicestine October (Ms)
Cell: 083 665 4345
E-mail: aoctober@parliament.gov.za
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