/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) on Thursday noted serious challenges in the Johannesburg metro but also huge opportunities for the city to correct them.
 
The meeting with the metro’s leadership was part of the committee’s week-long oversight visit to Gauteng. The committee also received briefings from the Gauteng MEC for COGTA and the Office of the Auditor-General (AG).
 
The committee noted that unauthorised, irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditures persist, as the metro is among the top 10 contributors to such expenditures. However, the committee stated that it is encouraging to see disciplinary action following the poor audit outcomes. It noted that a disciplinary board has now been established to deal with such matters.
 
Another concern for the committee was the political instability in the metro, as it has changed mayors six times in three years. The committee noted the AG’s observations that the changes in the political leadership have not significantly impacted the audit outcomes. However, the committee requested a report on how the metro handles the hung municipality. This, the committee believes, can help provide lessons on how to deal with hung municipalities, especially with the bill on coalition governments in the pipeline.
 
The committee also raised serious concerns about the municipality’s finances. It noted that the municipality is running an R3 billion deficit in the current year, which signals huge challenges in its revenue collection. Another concern for the committee was that the municipality underspends on its infrastructure grant and has an outstanding debt of R58 billion owed to it by various entities.
 
Committee Chairperson Dr Zweli Mkhize said that collecting this debt is a matter that needs to be addressed urgently. “The committee believes much work must be done to support this municipality. We have asked that the MEC should supervise the provision of various reports the committee requested,” he said. “We also asked the municipality to provide these plans to show that there is an effort to turn the situation around, including the management of this huge debt book where R58 billion is owed various consumers of the municipality.” The committee also cautioned the municipality to focus on revenue generation and not exhaust all its reserves, as sound financial health is important for a city of its magnitude.
 
Another big concern was the reported non-revenue water losses. The committee asked for the municipality’s turnaround strategy to address these water losses resulting from infrastructure deterioration and illegal connections. The committee also urged the municipality to conduct community satisfaction surveys and share this information with the committee to see how some of their challenges affect communities.
 
The committee also flagged issues relating to allegations of maladministration and corruption that need to be investigated. There were also serious concerns about the deterioration of inner-city buildings, as some have been hijacked. The committee demanded a plan from the municipality to address inner-city decay, where buildings are hijacked, creating gang criminality in the municipality. The committee insisted this needs to be corrected and said the municipality must ensure that the buildings are upgraded to livable human settlement dwellings. This, the committee believes, will help reduce crime and improve the city's attractiveness for investment.
 
The committee requested other reports from the municipality, including how it will recover its outstanding debt, details on its infrastructure master plan, and how infrastructure, especially water infrastructure, will be refurbished, repaired, and maintained to curb water losses. The committee also requested a list and progress report of court orders and forensic investigations since the 2019/20 financial year and a report on consequence management.
 
The committee expects these reports in the next two weeks.

Issued by the Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the chairperson of the portfolio committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Zweli Mkhize