Please note Tim Brauteseth, MPL sound bite in English
*Municipality in free fall with deliberate accountability obstruction
• Governance collapse amid repeated MFMA breaches
• DA will insist on criminal action
The Democratic Alliance has today observed, first-hand, shocking failures within Msunduzi Municipality during a Section 132 hearing of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Legislature.
Confidential municipal sources confirm a collapse of governance, repeated breaches of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), and deliberate obstruction of accountability processes.
Leading the way is the admission by the Municipal Manager (MM) that 69 forensic investigation reports are continuously blocked by councillors who walk out of council meetings to avoid their approval and implementation.
This protest action follows allegations that the Chief Internal Audit Executive, Petrus Mahlaba – whose suspension on similar charges was upheld by the Labour Court in 2016 – has been using trumped up forensic reports to settle political scores within the municipality.
Msunduzi remains crippled by R62million in irregular expenditure and R114million in fruitless expenditure in 2024/25 alone. Meanwhile, confidential records show that 84% of irregular expenditure (R522million) and 52% of fruitless expenditure (R248million) remain unresolved, with no recovery of funds. This is in direct violation of MFMA Section 32.
The DA can also reveal that the Municipal Manager (MM) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) failed to ensure that creditors were paid within 30 days, with the average payment period ballooning to 191 days. This is in direct contravention of MFMA section 65(2)(e) and has led to crippling interest charges.
Municipal service delivery has also collapsed with only 7% of water bursts repaired, housing projects six years behind schedule and thousands of street lights unfixed.
Confidential oversight minutes further expose that the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) repeatedly stood down or deferred critical Audit Committee reports. These include;
• Forensic investigations into deceased debtor accounts
• Irregular security contracts worth R350million and;
• Impairment of Internal Audit’s independence – a deliberate avoidance undermining lawful oversight and breaching MFMA Section 166.
The DA can also reveal that the relocation of the Forensic Investigations Unit to the MM’s office compromised independence, weakening consequence management and oversight. Confidential testimony warned that this move risks Msunduzi’s financial sustainability and autonomy, particularly in relation to Eskom’s proposed Distribution Agency Agreements.
The DA has uncovered a municipality in freefall. Msunduzi leadership have not only failed to comply with the MFMA – they have actively obstructed accountability. Section 173 of the MFMA is clear: Officials who deliberately or negligently breach their duties commit a criminal offence. It is time for prosecutions.
The DA demands;
• Immediate referral of implicated officials to law enforcement under MFMA Section 173.
• Recovery of irregular and fruitless expenditure.
• A forensic governance audit of all deferred Internal Audit Committee reports and;
• Provincial intervention to restore accountability and protect service delivery.
As a responsible partner within KZN’s Government of Provincial Unity (GPU), the DA will not allow Msunduzi to remain a lawless entity.
Residents deserve a municipality that delivers services, enforces accountability, and upholds the law. Today’s hearing should give pause to Msunduzi residents eligible to vote in the upcoming Local Government Elections. It is time for a responsible DA-led government to take control of this ailing municipality to turn it around.