A public dispute has emerged between the Gauteng Legislature’s Cooperative Governance (Cogta) Portfolio Committee and the Merafong City Local Municipality regarding the true state of the municipality’s finances and its ability to deliver basic services, a problem residents say has persisted for over a decade.
The disagreement unfolded during a televised interview, prompted by ongoing service delivery protests and a recent oversight visit by the Portfolio Committee to the troubled municipality.
Committee Chairperson, Mzi Khumalo, stated that the visit was part of an assessment of the municipality’s “viability and sustainability,” focusing on finances, service delivery, governance, and potential corruption. He stood by a damning committee statement that placed the municipality’s service delivery performance at a mere 34%, a figure he insisted came from the municipality’s own documents.
“The municipality is deteriorating particularly from the financial aspect,” Khumalo said, highlighting a massive R1.4 billion debt owed to bulk water supplier Rand Water. He questioned how the municipality could be financially sustainable given this debt and low revenue collection.
Khumalo also supported a recommendation from the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) that the province consider invoking Section 154 of the Constitution to provide enhanced support and potentially place the municipality under administration. He further called for a forensic investigation into a R5 million allocation for sinkhole remediation, citing a lack of accountability.
However, Merafong Municipality spokesperson Thabo Moloja strongly contested the committee’s assessment, calling the 34% performance figure “untrue.” He pointed to the Auditor-General’s report, which he said showed the municipality improved its audit outcome from 62% to 73%.
“We are a bit disturbed… that the Cogta statement did not put the facts as they are,” Moloja stated. He acknowledged the municipality’s deep-rooted challenges, including a past lack of permanent senior staff and dire financial health exacerbated by high unemployment and non-payment for services.
Moloja outlined a recovery plan, emphasizing that key positions like Municipal Manager and CFO have now been filled. He cited a recent meeting with Cogta MEC Mzi Khumalo that produced a 10-point turnaround strategy, which includes fixing the problematic billing system.
A significant part of the financial crisis, according to Moloja, is a legal battle with local mines, which he claims owe half of the R1.4 billion debt. He argued that an out-of-court settlement with the mines is crucial to resolving the municipality’s liquidity crisis and ensuring it can pay its bills to Rand Water and Eskom, thereby restoring consistent service delivery.
The debate underscores the desperate situation in Merafong, where residents, some of whom have complained of inconsistent water supply since 2012, are caught between a provincial government demanding accountability and a local municipality pleading for more time and support to implement its recovery plan.
