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A joint meeting of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) and the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has raised serious concerns about governance failures, delayed infrastructure projects and weak accountability systems in the OR Tambo District Municipality and Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality.
 
The two municipalities from the Eastern Cape province appeared before the two committees this week over concerning findings from the Auditor-General (AG) and ongoing investigations by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).
 
The committees observed serious challenges across both municipalities with regards to the following:

Compliance with supply chain management legislation and regulations. The AG continues to find repeated violations of supply chain management legislation and regulations in both municipalities, raising concerns about whether contracts are awarded fairly and transparently.

The committees also highlighted poor contract management that is evident in several projects across both municipalities, where suppliers have either failed to meet their obligations or abandoned project sites entirely, with little or no action taken against them.

Both municipalities have several cases of poor project management where projects fell behind schedule due to failures by consulting engineers or contractors, yet payments continued to be made.

Another major concern is what appears to be a reluctance by both administrative and political leadership to enforce compliance and act against wrongdoing. The SIU has made several referrals for disciplinary and criminal action in both municipalities, however, many of these cases have remained unresolved for years. In Buffalo City, disciplinary referrals against municipal officials linked to procurement irregularities have been outstanding for long periods without finalisation. In OR Tambo District Municipality, the committees noted with concern that the Municipal Manager appeared reluctant to fully accept the outcomes of SIU investigations.

Both municipalities are also struggling with revenue management. Municipalities are required to collect payment on invoices within 30 days. However, both OR Tambo and Buffalo City often take more than six months to collect revenue owed to them. This delay has serious consequences. While municipalities must pay suppliers within 30 days under procurement regulations, slow revenue collection creates major cash flow pressures.

Chairperson of SCOPA, Mr Songezo Zibi said some of the issues raised during the meetings may require further investigation by other state agencies. “The committees may consider referring some of the instances discussed during these engagements for further investigation and action by other state agencies,” said Mr Zibi.
 
SCOPA will now compile and table its report based on its March 2025 oversight visit to the two municipalities and this week’s engagements. The report will be tabled in the National Assembly with recommendations aimed at strengthening accountability and improving service delivery.

Issued by the Parliamentary Communication Services on. behalf of the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Songezo Zibi and the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Zweli Mkhize