The Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) has expressed serious concerns about the financial viability and governance of the Merafong City Local Municipality. A meeting held on August 19 revealed a municipality in crisis, with residents bearing the brunt of widespread service failures.

The committee highlighted a number of critical issues:

• Service delivery failures: Residents of towns like Welverdiend have suffered from month-long electricity outages due to faulty transformers. The municipality’s R1.4 billion debt to Rand Water has led to compromised water supply, with only 80% of service restored even after a R50 million payment.
• Infrastructure decay: The infrastructure in the Carletonville CBD continues to decline, and the municipality’s own assessment shows it only achieved 34% of its service delivery targets in the past financial year.
• Non-compliance with directives: The committee noted that the municipality has failed to implement directives from the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). These directives, issued on April 1, 2025, included providing structured support, submitting monthly progress reports, and conducting forensic investigations into questionable procurement and appointments. The committee is particularly concerned that these issues have not yet been brought before the full Council.
• Questionable appointment: The committee also raised concerns about the appointment of a Deputy Chief Financial Officer in April 2024. The position does not align with the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), and the committee will seek legal clarity from the MEC for CoGTA.

Committee Chairperson, Hon. Mzi Khumalo, acknowledged that while Merafong faces significant challenges, there has been some progress in financial reporting and audit processes. He emphasized, however, that sustained recovery requires firm leadership, improved revenue collection, and stronger accountability.

The committee has committed to rigorous oversight of the municipality’s 10-point turnaround strategy and called on both the Department and the municipality to urgently comply with the NCOP’s directives to address service delivery and governance failures.