The Democratic Alliance in Msunduzi is concerned that, seven months after Msunduzi municipality was placed under administration, the City’s financial position has deteriorated to the point where service delivery is being negatively impacted across the municipality.
Although the Ministerial Representative has finally received support in terms of a team deployed from CoGTA (Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs), to assist in bringing back some form of stability, which is almost half a year later, we feel that this matter is not treated with the urgency it deserves.
The fundamental Financial Portfolio Committee, which is the “engine room” of the Municipality, responsible for interrogating the finances and planning of the Municipality, Chaired by the Mayor, had its last sitting in early August.
These meetings are expected to sit weekly, to assist in making critical decisions together with senior management on the status of the Municipality’s financial wellbeing. The integral section 71 reports, which are the current financial statements of the Municipality, have not been presented to the Committee timeously and as per legislative requirements, this ultimately, will be another negative finding by the Auditor General
As per the recent Executive Workshop held this week, the current standings on the operational budget is around R 11 million. For a Municipality of this size, and as per GARP (Global Association of Risk Professionals) standards, and good financial practices, this Municipality should have at least three months cash coverage. With this amount of money, the Municipality can barely keep up with its financial obligations within a month. Management has introduced a debt collection strategy, but this can only be effective if it is done equitably throughout the City for those residents who can afford to pay, and those who have not been affected by errors in the billing system.
Basic services are not being executed, such as routine maintenance on infrastructure. Service providers are being awarded tenders in good faith not understanding the risk of payment expectations. Bulk service providers are having to serve notices on the Municipality for not paying timeously and as per the legislative responsibilities.
More alarming is the lack of political will to address the devastatingly low collection rates of services throughout the City. There are residents, large areas and businesses throughout the City that are not paying for basic services such as water and electricity, in which some have been connected illegally, or bypassed meters, or connected directly to reservoirs, some of which are households that are worth millions. Bulk purchases of both electricity and water is one of the Municipality’s biggest expenses, and if we cannot collect, as well as convert those expenses into revenue equitably, we will never recover.
This fundamentally has played a massive part in the collapse of our City’s wallet and has been purposely ignored as a political barrier the governing party refuse to admit.
The DA will work hard, together with the Ministerial Representative, his team, and senior management to make sure this key issue of the collection of rates and services is addressed. We will ensure that the law is implemented equitably without fear or favour and that our City can start to recover from this devastating situation and become a capable City. It is clear for all to see that the ANC has failed in Msunduzi. Incompetent people were placed in positions and they have failed to bring the much-needed services in the Capital City. The City is a shadow of how it used to be. The people of Msunduzi will remember this when they go to polls and chose a government that is competent and will bring real change.