Silent MEC and his Department have no idea what is going on in KZN’s municipalities

Issued by Chris Pappas, MPL – DA KZN Spokesperson on CoGTA
19 Apr 2021 in Press Statements

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is fast uncovering that KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) has little to no understanding of what is really going on in the province’s municipalities.

The DA has over the past four months submitted a number of parliamentary questions to MEC Sipho Hlomuka and his Department as part of our duties to hold the ANC-run government accountable.

Some of these submissions included questions about criminal activity in relation to municipal officials – in response to Premier Sihle Zikalala’s commitment to stricter consequence management. Further questions relating to infrastructure backlogs, the functionality of Municipal Public Accounts Committees and dodgy contracts in Msunduzi – where millions of Rands are spent on security for councillors – were also submitted.

From the responses that the DA has received to date, three things are blatantly obvious;

• The Department, despite its enormous staff salaries budget, has very little data or information on the functionality of municipalities

• The information or data that they do possess is often incorrect or does not reflect the reality on the ground and;

• The Department is not exercising its oversight and intervention duties to full effect, particularly in terms of the various pieces of legislation that exist to empower the Provincial Government to act more decisively.

The people of KZN are experiencing the effects of poor governance within municipalities first-hand. Many communities go days on end without water and infrastructure is crumbling. The lack of economic growth, particularly in smaller towns, also means that unemployment is destroying the future for millions of young people. The question is: where is the Department in all of this?

KZN’s CoGTA MEC is often referred to as the silent MEC within the halls of the legislature. It is now becoming apparent why. There is little evidence to show that the Department is actually in control of ensuring good quality service delivery and accountability.

The Auditor-General has recently named the DA-led Western Cape as the top performing province in the country. This while the ANC-run province of KZN was the worst performer. It is therefore no surprise that our municipalities are in the state that they are in.

The DA’s proven track record in local government is what is on offer for all KZN’s residents in the upcoming local government elections. They can have more of the same – or they can choose to have proven good governance.

The DA will continue to pressure MEC Hlomuka and his CoGTA Department to get a handle on our province’s municipalities and take more decisive steps to intervene in failing service delivery.