The joint oversight committees, comprising the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and the Standing Committee on Auditor-General, have raised serious concerns over persistent governance, financial management and service delivery failures at several KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) municipalities, including Impendle and Nquthu municipalities.
The committees held engagements with the municipalities at the Pietermaritzburg Town Hall yesterday, as part of their week-long oversight oversight visit to KZN, focusing on municipalities identified by the Auditor-General of South Africa as distressed or dysfunctional.
The committees expressed deep concern over Nquthu Local Municipality’s recurring audit failures and weak post-audit action plan. While limited progress was noted, the municipality was warned that its submissions lack clear targets, measurable outcomes and credible strategies to address supply chain and contract management failures, budget–service delivery misalignment and overreliance on consultants.
The municipality was instructed to submit a comprehensive, time-bound post-audit action plan with clear responsibilities, measurable outcomes and monitoring mechanisms. Provincial Treasury, the MECs for COGTA and Finance, and the Auditor-General will oversee implementation.
The committees further directed the municipality to strengthen controls to prevent unauthorised, irregular, fruitless, and wasteful (UIFW) expenditure and to submit a full report on investigations, disciplinary or criminal action taken and preventative measures. Bonuses and incentives must reflect actual performance, failing which restitution will be enforced.
The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on COGTA, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said the municipality has three months to submit the required reports and demonstrate improvement, warning that failure will lead to constitutional interventions.
The committees also expressed grave concern over Impendle Local Municipality’s financial distress and governance failures. Despite repeated Treasury interventions during the 2024/25 financial year, recommended measures were not implemented resulting in the loss of R36 million in grant funding and irregular payments exceeding R600 000 in bonuses, gratuities and allowances.
Misleading information provided to Parliament, including the underreporting of salary expenditure, was strongly condemned. Political instability, including the absence of a functioning mayor and poor council cooperation, was cited as a key contributor to the municipality’s dysfunction.
Municipal leadership was directed to comply fully with MEC-recommended recovery plans, strengthen financial controls, ring-fence compensation of employees and prevent further UIFW expenditure. The committees warned that misleading Parliament and continued non-compliance will attract serious consequences. Urgent intervention is required to stabilise governance and restore service delivery, particularly in water, housing and infrastructure.
The committees also engaged with Endumeni, Nongoma, Msunduzi and uMhlathuze local municipalities, raising concerns over audit failures, weak financial and procurement controls, unfunded budgets, infrastructure backlogs, high consultancy costs and poor accountability.
Endumeni Local Municipality was rebuked for unexplained cash gratuities exceeding R20 000 for each senior manager and was directed to submit a time-bound Audit Action Plan. Nongoma Local Municipality was criticised for weak contract management and grant under-spending and ordered to submit a verified post-audit plan.
Msunduzi Local Municipality received a stern warning over persistent governance failures, rising debt and service delivery breakdowns. At uMhlathuze Local Municipality, the committees raised concerns over water losses, budget shortfalls, security risks and unlawful salary deductions. They warned that provincial intervention may be required.
Dr Mkhize reaffirmed the committees’ commitment to enforcing accountability, financial discipline and constitutional obligations to the municipalities. The committees will wrap up their oversight visit programme today with engagements with the Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma District Municipality and traditional leaders in Pietermaritzburg.
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