Msunduzi City Hall. Photo supplied
Msunduzi Municipality ratepayers and residents who are fed-up with poor service delivery, have alleged corruption and billing problems, are calling for a forensic investigation, lifestyle audits on councillors and for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Thembi Nkadimeng to intervene and legally dissolve the municipality.
Msunduzi Association of Residents, Ratepayers and Civics (MARRC) chairperson Anthony Waldhausen told the Mail & Guardian this week that the Pietermaritzburg-based organisation had written to both Nkadimeng and Kwazulu-Natal cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) MEC Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi asking them to invoke section 139 (5) of the Constitution to dissolve the troubled Msunduzi municipality and, alternatively, for the national executive to invoke Section 139(7) of the Constitution.
The group noted poor service delivery, corruption, high tariffs for services and maladministration as some of their key issues with the way the municipality is run.
Waldhausen said residents, ratepayers and civic organisations are “deeply concerned” that the municipality had not held a meeting to present the final draft budget for 2024-25 and the integrated development plan (IDP), in violation of the public participation requirements outlined in the Constitution and the Municipal Systems Act.
He said the draft budget and draft IDP were on the agenda of a recent municipal imbizo he had attended but, when it was time to raise the items, the chairperson of the meeting announced that there was nothing to report.
“Nothing was discussed about the budget or the IDP at all. I made a comment to ask them to give me an explanation of what public participation is, and his explanation was very vague,” he said.
Waldhausen accused the ANC-led municipality of using municipal imbizos as electioneering opportunities.
“The meetings are hijacked by the ANC for its election campaigns … that is the process of the imbizos — and their approach is also not to engage with all the residents because they always host the imbizos in ANC-led wards.
“There are 41 wards, and the municipality should be hosting imbizos in all 41 wards, but they hold imbizos far out [of the city]. They say it is in Northdale but it really is in Copesville,” he said.
“The whole process is flawed and there is unequalness because they are not getting responses at all from residents and those people who they are engaging with are not paying for services,” he said.
Waldhausen said MARRC had written to acting municipal manager Sabelo Hlela, mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla, chief financial officer Nelisiwe Ngcobo and a few other municipal leaders, as well as the MEC, on 13 May to raise the issue.
He said residents had not received the draft final budget for 2024-2025 and the draft final IDP, which were also not available on the municipality’s website. He asked the municipality to inform ratepayers of the opening and closing dates for public comment.
“At no stage has the Msunduzi municipality engaged all stakeholders to go through the draft final budget 2024-2025 and draft final IDP.
“Unfortunately, we cannot consider the recent imbizos as a public participation process as they have been hijacked by the governing party for the general election purposes.
“We would like to request that a presentation on the draft final budget 2024-2025 and draft final IDP be workshopped with MARRC and its affiliated members.”
He continued: “We would like to bring to your attention that the draft final budget 2024-2025 and draft final IDP process is completely flawed and non-compliant according to the Constitution, section 152; The Municipal Systems Act, chapter 4 and Municipal Finance Management Act, sections 22, 23.”
Waldhausen said this week that the association has not yet received a response to the letter.
The association had also written to Nkabinde and Sithole-Moloi on 6 March asking for their intervention in the municipality. But it had also not received a response to concerns raised.
In the letter, Waldhausen highlighted myriad issues facing residents and ratepayers including allegations of poor service delivery, rampant corruption and billing issues at the municipality.
“We would like to highlight the unethical leadership at the Msunduzi municipality, where we are under administration since May 2019,” he wrote.
The KZN provincial government announced earlier this month that it was lifting the administration and that the municipality would be run by liaising directly with Cogta.
He said the problems of a culture of entitlement and impunity, political interference, the use of state resources for personal gain, maladministration, fraud and corruption had been highlighted in the media since 2020.
“Since little has changed during repeated periods of administration, the frustrations of residents are now playing out on a daily basis, resulting in violence and impending civil unrest,” he said.
He said residents had faced “worsening suffering and hopelessness” due to “billing issues and errors including one resident being slapped with an erroneous account for R35,6 million”. Electricity and water outages that last for weeks on end as a result of poor maintenance and neglect of infrastructure were “a recurring challenge”.
“The major challenges remain the lack of financial discipline in the municipality, poor revenue collection and water and electricity theft — the municipality owes Eskom R644 million. Only 30% of residents are actually billed for services, while 70% of residents can afford it but are not billed. This is financially unsustainable and needs urgent intervention,” Waldhausen said in the letter.
“Both the mayor and municipal manager have admitted that they are aware of this theft but little or nothing is done. The city residents are angered by the lack of leadership and political will to address the serious challenges that are threatening to collapse our city. Urgent intervention is also needed to avert large-scale violence and anarchy and massive job loss.”
He said ratepayers had also “noted with dismay” that the municipality is going ahead with tariff increases (12% for water and 17% for electricity), despite objections by MARRC, other ratepayer associations and residents.
“MARRC believes these increases are unfair in the light of hardships faced by residents. MARRC hoped that the council would be sensitive to the needs and stresses of residents and honour their obligations … to charge rates that are affordable and deliver reliable services to the few that bear the financial burden for the huge number of residents that do not pay,” he said.
He said MARRC would lobby the treasury regarding the price hikes.
The association had tried to support the municipality in finding solutions and presented a case study on billing problems to it in 2020. But the municipality had not engaged with the association regarding its proposed solutions, Waldhausen said.
“MARRC has exhausted all legal avenues of engagement with the municipality. All attempts to engage have been to no avail. MARRC is, therefore, now considering all options, including resorting to court action,” he said.
Waldhausen said the association would consider going to court alone or in conjunction with other NGOs, or through Chapter 9 institutions, such as the Public Protector and the SA Human Rights Commission.
He added that ratepayers had presented a detailed report to the auditor general to investigate fruitless and wasteful expenditure; municipal billing accounts and indigent forms; fleet management; water tankers and other issues.
“There is an urgent need to do a forensic investigation into all departments at the municipality and lifestyle audits of all staff and political leaders from all political parties as well,” he said.
“As a very last resort, MARRC would like to appeal to you as the national and provincial ministers of Cogta to save our municipality by the province invoking section 139 (5) of the Constitution of SA and dissolving the Msunduzi municipality, alternatively by the national executive invoking s139(7) of the Constitution,” he said.
The MARRC had asked for genuine leadership and political will to make the necessary changes as well as pleaded with the municipality and minister to make history and save its capital city.
Msunduzi municipality spokesperson, Nomafuze Ntobe, had not responded to the questions, sent by the Mail & Guardian last week, at the time of publication.
Spokespersons for Sithole-Moloi and Nkabinde had not responded to questions sent this week.