Durban - The financial woes and service delivery challenges of the Zululand District Municipality are seemingly far from over after an internal financial recovery plan showed that some recommendations had not been implemented, further worsening the financial situation of the entity.
The dire financial situation of the municipality is contained in a 2022 financial recovery plan, which was presented to the council during a secluded retreat held in Richards Bay on February 6 this year.
The plan was instituted after the national Treasury wrote to the district municipality anchored in Ulundi, northern KwaZulu-Natal, warning it to get its finances in order following concerns that its budgets were unfunded.
The district municipality is made up of Ulundi, Pongola, Abaqulusi (Vryheid), Dumbe (Paulpietersburg) and Nongoma local municipalities, and it is home to a population of about 1.2 million.
The report noted that while progress has been made in dealing with challenges like lack of oversight and risk management that had led to looting of funds, there were still concerns over service delivery and the filling of critical vacant positions.
On service delivery issues, the report said no progress had been made, and to address the challenge, the municipality intended to lease more vehicles for staff and discard the use of water tankers to deliver water to residents.
“Service delivery has failed and, in many instances, basic services delivery infrastructure has been allowed to deteriorate to an extent that service delivery mechanisms such as wastewater treatment works have failed, causing a health hazard to the community it was intended to serve,” reads the report.
It added that the municipality has “idle staff” that lack the basic tools to do their work in the communities of the vast and largely rural district municipality. Another worrying matter raised in the report was “no progress” in resolving the issue of municipal staff unlawfully appointed to senior positions.
“Staff members were appointed or promoted on an ad hoc basis, with a total disregard to the human resources processes being followed, and adding to the unaffordability of the municipal budget employee-related costs,” the report noted.
At some point, the municipality was struggling to meet its deadlines to pay creditors who had come knocking. However, that challenge was resolved when the municipality, led by the IFP’s Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi, made payment arrangements that included paying creditors in tranches.
Another challenge raised in the report was the “excessive spending on litigation” and the use of bodyguards for councillors.
The report said that led to “depletion of funds” and service delivery being neglected. As a result, a drastic cost-cutting measure was implemented and VIP protection was suspended.
Towards the end, the report – which was jointly prepared by the chief financial officer (CFO) and municipal manager – warned that since there is “no progress” in dealing with some of the challenges identified, the district municipality was on the verge of collapse.
“As a result of previous long-term financial decisions with long-term implications, the municipality is on the brink of collapse, as these decisions were not informed by plausible reasons.”
To avert this disaster, the report recommends that the municipality must “source grant funding”.
Buthelezi, the district mayor, denied that the report was ever presented to the council, even when opposition parties like the National Freedom Party and ANC-aligned Zululand activist, Lindokuhle Xulu, confirmed that it had been presented.
The DA in the council also confirmed that the report was indeed delivered.
“This is not an official report from the municipality. It is being distributed by the ANC, that lost elections on November 1, 2021. This report has no status in the municipality. It was never delivered by the CFO nor any other official to (the) council. All council documents have an author and are signed,” Buthelezi said when asked about it.
Buthelezi has been locked in a bitter fight with Xulu and the ANC after they accused him of corruption and asked Public Protector advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane to probe him.
Daily News