Msunduzi must fix its service delivery problems if it wants earn metro status. Picture: Msunduzi Municipality - City of Choice/Facebook
GRANTING the Msunduzi Municipality metro status before it solved its service delivery problems would only benefit the city’s councillors and employees, not citizens who were victims of its inefficiency and ineffectiveness.
The Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity group (PMBEJD) issued the warning in reaction to the news that the city would be informed next year whether or not its application would be granted.
“If we don’t have efficiency, effectiveness, clean audit and proper consultation, then what Cogta would be doing (granting metro status) is to reward Msunduzi for its inefficiency and politicians. Metro staff will benefit because they will get paid higher salaries in line with other metros,” said PMBEJD programme coordinator Mervyn Abrahams.
Deciding on the status of the KwaZulu-Natal capital city would be the responsibility of the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB), an entity of the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta).
Msunduzi Municipality spokesperson Ntobeko Mkhize said the municipality had regular engagements with the Demarcation Board about the matter.
“The continuous engagement provides a critical space for the municipality to constantly read just and improve on matters of service delivery, governance and performance.
“However, no shortcomings have been outlined by the Demarcation board since the investigation on the feasibility of the proposal is still ongoing,” said Ngcobo.
She said for the city to be a metro would be for the betterment of the public.
“The metro status designation will provide the municipality with a broader scope of executing the mandate of service delivery and the capacity to unlock additional resources.
“This will allow for better coordination of service delivery programmes and the improvement of the current socio-economic conditions,” she said.
She also denied that the airport was in a state of neglect saying even auditors were “pleased with its state”.
“The airport is in excellent condition and undergoes an annual licensing audit every September.
“The airport successfully retained its operating license, with the audit assessing both airside and landside infrastructure.
“The results confirmed that the airport is well-maintained,” she said.
She said the population capacity of the municipality is equivalent to other existing metros.
“The municipality has a well-established diverse economy that still has a capacity to grow.
“The services the city provides to the region attract significant investments to the municipality fuelling the high levels of movement between the existing multiple business districts,” she said.
The MDB recently issued a circular informing government stakeholders including Cogta and finance ministries that the city was not ready to be a metro because “the proposed area (Msunduzi) does not meet criteria for categorisation of a Category A municipality (metropolitan municipality) as provided for in terms of Section 2 of the Municipal Structures.”
On its website, the city boasts that its “economy grew by an incredible 30% in 2003-2004 and continues to grow at an exceptional rate”.
Abrahams said the city had a lot of work to do to prove that it was worthy of the metro status. Crumbling service delivery was the main issue.
“There are many citizens who should be on an indigent list, but to get on the list takes forever. It is a process that drives people mad yet the National Treasurer is giving funds for that purpose,” said Abrahams.
He called on MDB and Cogta to be extra careful in considering whether it should grant metro status to the city, which applied for it many years ago.
In its drive to become a metro, the council recently stated in its Final Integrated Development Plan Review for the 2024/2025 financial year that there was a plan to attract investors in numbers to open businesses.
Crime and shoddy service delivery had caused a mass exodus from the CBD over the years.
“Strengthening existing centres of economic activity and identifying new economic zones and centres is vital to promote and support growth within the economy.
“Supporting their development and growth will ensure the sustainable development of the economy of Msunduzi,” read the city’s document.
However, Abrahams said the city’s economy did not put it on a metro level.
“It would have been a better economy if they were effective in debt collection and spent the money in the manner that they should as the capital city,” he said.
He added there was potential to increase its economic strength if companies invested “down the N3 corridor, but that would depend on the municipality delivering proper service effectively and efficiently”.
“Lots of things are run down, including the Maritzburg airport, which should be our greater economic value to the whole area but the municipality has not invested in the infrastructure,” said Abrahams.
MDB chief executive officer Manye Moroka said this week that a team of researchers had been assembled to investigate the potential of Msunduzi becoming a metro.
He said the team would engage with all stakeholders and “nobody will be left out” in collecting the evidence-based information.
This would be presented to the public with further consultation on whether they believed they needed the metro “as proposed by the province” and “it can go either way”.
Once this was done, the completed study would go back to the board for a decision.