Parliament, Monday, 4 May 2026 – The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) will this week hold hearings with the Mangaung and Ekurhuleni Metropolitan municipalities on the Auditor-General’s (AG) latest audit findings and Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigations.
On Tuesday, 5 May 2026, the committee will hear from Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality on financial management and performance. Mangaung spent 113% of its budget while achieving only 50% of its service delivery targets.
The municipality has been under provincial intervention since January 2020 and was escalated to national intervention in April 2022. A Financial Recovery Plan (FRP), approved in September 2023, was meant to stabilise finances and restore governance. The AG found that only 58% of the recovery plan’s activities have been implemented, with the municipality still stuck in the “rescue phase” after 22 months. The AG could not verify critical information such as water revenue, overtime payments and whether some goods and services paid for were delivered.
Although conditional grants increased to R788.53 million in 2024/25, the municipality underspent R191.73 million, following a similar underspending of R193.59 million the year before. As a result of this, National Treasury withheld R140.98 million in funding due to slow project implementation which impacted on infrastructure projects. A water project valued at over R106 million is only 26% complete. Mangaung owes R642.05 million for bulk water, while losing nearly half of its water supply, about R495.55 million, through leaks, burst pipes and illegal connections.
The SIU is investigating allegations of corruption in the metro police and the Integrated Public Transport Network (IPTN), dating back to 2017. However, the investigation has been delayed because the municipality has not provided all requested documents. A separate investigation into the IPTN project found possible improper procurement of buses and infrastructure. Council has since resolved that disciplinary action must be taken against implicated officials, the matter be referred to the Hawks for criminal investigation and civil action be pursued to recover financial losses.
The Hawks are also investigating fraudulent payments linked to the indigent register, where proper approval processes were allegedly bypassed. In another case, political staff were allegedly appointed to positions that did not exist, with their salaries later classified as irregular expenditure. Despite this, the municipal public accounts committee has yet to finalise its report.
On Wednesday, 6 May 2026, the committee will hear from Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality on the SIU investigations that found that a total of 208 municipal properties, valued at about R58 million, were fraudulently transferred out of municipal ownership. The investigation found that properties were transferred without municipal approval, fraudulent documents were used to process the transfers and an attorney acted without a valid mandate. The investigation resulted in 208 criminal referrals as well as referrals to the South African Revenue Services, the Financial Intelligence Centre and other law enforcement agencies.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC ACCOUNTS, MR SONGEZO ZIBI.
For media enquiries, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Ms Faith Ndenze
Parliamentary Communication Services
Cell: 081 377 0686
Email: fndenze@parliament.gov.za
Arrange a tour