The Select Committee on Co-operative Governance and Public Administration (Traditional Affairs, Human Settlements and Water & Sanitation) is concerned about the progress made to fix municipalities that are under administration in KwaZulu-Natal.
The committee visited the province on Tuesday this week.
It found that the interventions have been ineffective, adding that this has a direct and negative impact on essential services that those municipalities must render to the people.
There are 10 Section 139 interventions in municipalities in KZN. Eight municipalities are under Section 139(1)(b): Mpofana, uThukela District Municipality, Inkosi Langalibalele, uMzinyathi District Municipality, uMkhanyakude District Municipality, Mtubatuba, Umzumbe and Zululand District Municipality.
Two have directives in terms of Section 139(1)(a):y uMhlathuze Local Municipality and Msunduzi Local Municipality.
“The lack of tangible progress feeds into the perception that section 139 interventions are generally ineffective,” said Mxolisi Kaunda, the chairperson of the committee.
In a statement, the committee said it is of the considered view that the inability to resolve matters such as non-payment of suppliers, inadequate council oversight over management, growing debtors’ book, low cash reserves and lack of adequate skills will continue to hamper effective service delivery if not resolved.
Furthermore, the committee considers some of the challenges are “patently unacceptable” and undermine the trust given to those elected representatives by the citizens.
“It is also concerning that some of these interventions have been in place for a long time with UMzinyathi District Municipality’s intervention having started in 2016 while Mpofana Local Municipality’s and Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality’s interventions started in December 2017. While the committee acknowledged the need for the interventions, it is imperative that they yield results,” Kaunda emphasised.
“What is important for the committee is to ensure that all municipalities are functional and offer efficient and quality services to the people,” he concluded.
The Mercury