Experts delve into reasons behind service delivery failures

WEAK councillors, politicisation of local government, and tenders for politically connected pals were some of the reasons that has led to the collapse of service delivery, experts say.

- GCWALISILE KHANYILE

From the City of Johannesburg’s “U-turn” on a R1 billion tender investigation to the Ditsobotla Local Municipality in the North West, that were several examples of how political infighting has destroyed service delivery.

Ditsobotla, was placed under administration by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA).

CoGTA found that Ditsobotla adopted unfunded budgets for five consecutive years, accumulated over R1.6bn in unpaid creditors, defaulted on salary and Eskom payments, and failed to implement court-ordered recovery measures.

There was also an ongoing struggle with housing, such as empty container homes in Alexandra, Gauteng, a RSOO million temporary housing project meant to “de-densify” the overcrowded informal settlements of Alexandra during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The crumbling infrastructure, maladministration, financial mismanagement, and service delivery crises in Buffalo City Metro led the Eastern Cape CoGTA to institute an Article 154 intervention last month.

In KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), the uMkhanyakude Municipality was initially placed under administration for its failure to meet its executive obligations, including poor governance, financial instability, and a service delivery crisis, particularly regarding water provision.

However, following a legal challenge by the municipality, where it argued that it had made sufficient progress to warrant the end of the administration, the KZN government subsequently withdrew its administration and provided support.

These municipalities were flagged in the findings of the Auditor-General (AG) Tsakani Maluleke.