Cogta minister confronts MECS over failing municipalities

Hlabisa warns provincial governments that dysfunctional councils will lose funds

- By Bongani Mdakane

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa has directly accused five provincial MECs from Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Free State, and North West of presiding over a systemic collapse in municipal governance, leaving billions in infrastructure grants unspent while basic services fail.

The accusation, detailed in scathing letters to Basikopo Makamu, Thulasizwe Buthelezi, Speed Mashilo, Saki Mokoena, and Gaoage Molapisi, the MECs of Cogta and human settlements, reveals that multiple municipalities are at risk of losing crucial funding, which would be reallocated to other provinces.

The minister's audit paints a picture of profound dysfunction: rampant project delays, a lack of technical skill, zero consequence management, and the spectre of newly built infrastructure crumbling from neglect.

The crisis centres on the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG), a lifeline for poor communities mandated by the Division of Revenue Act (DORA) to provide water, sanitation, and electricity and to stimulate local economies.

"I am writing to you... to bring to your attention significant and ongoing concerns regarding the performance and implementation of the Municipal Infrastructure Grants," Hlabisa states in the letters.