Durban — The DA in KwaZulu-Natal has indicated that now is the time to put the eThekwini Municipality under administration.
The DA KZN spokesperson on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Martin Meyer said the DA in KZN renewed its call to Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube to urgently intervene over the growing crisis within the eThekwini Municipality and implement Section 139 of the Constitution, placing it under provincial administration.
“The extent of the disastrous state of KZN’s only metro cannot be understated,” Meyer said.
“The premier, or whoever she decides to appoint as her new Cogta MEC, must act now.”
He said that recent events in cities such as Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni also show that the ANC government appears hell-bent on destroying South Africa’s metros. Nowhere is this more evident than in eThekwini.
“The Auditor-General’s (AG) report, which came before a recent eThekwini council meeting, is just the latest in a series of alarm bells. Regrettably, the premier and her two previous Cogta MECs seem to have selective hearing,” Meyer said.
“With R1.5 billion in irregular expenditure, no action or consequence management, and a fast-worsening financial and debt situation, there are serious questions as to whether eThekwini is still a going concern.”
Meyer said that equally worrying was that the report stated that the metro had only met 46% of its targeted objectives for water, sanitation, and electricity. This is while large parts of the city’s residents reel from constant water and electricity outages and as sewerage flows unabated into its rivers.
He said that the AG’s report on financial instability followed weeks of political instability. This includes the removal of the deputy mayor through a motion of no-confidence, the ANC and EFF boycotting a council meeting to elect a new deputy mayor, and a motion of no-confidence looming against mayor Mxolisi Kaunda.
He also said that in November, as a result of the ongoing sewerage crisis, the DA called on the then Cogta MEC, Sihle Zikalala, to invoke Section 139 of the Constitution and place the metro under administration.
Meyer said the MEC ignored this call, going so far as to state that eThekwini was recovering well and that there were no problems in the metro. While no one is mourning the departure of the former premier and MEC, the city continues to suffer as a result of his inaction, he said.
“The time for turning a blind eye to the crisis in eThekwini is over. The premier and incoming MEC for Cogta must act. As the centre of economic life in our province and home to millions of our citizens, the premier needs to remember that if eThekwini fails, KZN fails,” Meyer said.
He said that in the coming days, the DA would announce plans to highlight the matter and bring pressure to bear on the ANC-run provincial government. It was time, he said, that the premier and her executive stopped twiddling their thumbs and acted in the best interests of KZN’s residents.
Meanwhile, the Daily News reported Wednesday that the AG’s report was compiled for July 1 to September 30, 2022.
Most of the irregular expenditure was a result of non-compliance with supply chain management regulations.
The AG recommended that the municipality have a sound system of internal control and effective governance structures to achieve its goals.
Proper record-keeping measures should be implemented to ensure that complete, relevant and accurate information is accessible and available to support performance reporting as well as compliance with applicable legislation, the AG said.
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