GAUTENG Premier Panyaza Lesufi has been blamed for municipalities’ growing debt in the province.
This is after the DA in Gauteng said Lesufi has failed to assist the municipalities drowning in R18.61 billion debt.
This was after the Local Government Revenue and Expenditure’s Third Quarter Local Government Section 71 report painted a bleak picture of Gauteng municipalities.
The report highlighted the dire need for the provincial government to step up and provide comprehensive financial management support to struggling municipalities.
This includes Emfuleni Local Municipality with an astounding R9.82bn in creditor balances and the highest in the province.
Then the City of Johannesburg and the City of Ekurhuleni with debts of R3.71bn and R3.36bn, respectively; Rand West City has R1.72bn debt.
The report also stated that the municipalities’ spending was 90.5% or R562.2bn of the total adjusted expenditure budget of R621.4bn, while consumer debts amounted to R339.9bn.
The Section 71 report aims to promote transparency in reporting and better in-year management and the oversight of the financial performance of municipalities against their adjusted budgets.
The report serves as a management tool that can assist councils, provincial legislatures, and municipal management to monitor and improve municipal performance timeously.
“It is clear that the Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi’s government, particularly the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), is failing dismally to assist these municipalities in getting their finances in order.
“Residents are the ones who end up suffering the most, as service delivery is continually impacted by these municipalities’ financial woes,” said DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga.
Msimanga said most of these municipalities’ ratepayers struggle to access uninterrupted and reliable electricity and water supply.
He added that roads were littered with potholes and flooded with sewage.
Lefusi’s spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said he was not around and questions should be referred to the provincial Cogta office.
Cogta spokesperson Theo Nkonki said MEC Jacob Mamabolo acknowledged that municipalities were challenged on numerous fronts, which includes self-sustainability, governance, infrastructure which impacts service delivery and this is of great concern to the government of Gauteng.
Nkonki said Cogta has been working tirelessly on various interventions to support municipalities, but the latest audit outcomes are a clear message that as a department “we” must relook the interventions and the approach we have been using to provide support.
“The department has already started the process of analysing the latest audit outcomes, has already established partnerships with strategic stakeholders to address fundamental problems relating to revenue collection, governance, management of infrastructure projects and debt management and will be monitoring and reporting on progress through the departmental task team responsible for municipal support,” said Nkonki.
The DA-led Midvaal Municipality has a relatively low creditor balance of only R60.18 million, demonstrating the benefits of sound financial management.
Msimanga said this municipality continues to demonstrate that where the DA governs, clean and efficient governance is the norm rather than the exception.
He said the DA would continue to put pressure on the Cogta to ensure that it assists municipalities with comprehensive financial management support and training, ensuring they have the skills and mechanisms in place to avoid this severe debt crisis.
In her latest report, Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke also highlighted several challenges faced by Gauteng municipalities. These include weak financial management, poor governance, non-compliance and continued service delivery failures.
The report also indicated that many municipalities struggle with financial sustainability due to unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure. It also highlighted significant discrepancies in infrastructure maintenance and service delivery planning, which have adversely affected the quality of service provided to residents.
Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Cogta also said it would continue the progress of all municipalities.
The committee added that it would further ensure that all municipalities in Gauteng adhere to the highest standards of financial and operational governance.