KZN municipalities spent R749.5 million on Covid, reveals MEC

Municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal have spent R749.5 million on Covid-19-related expenditures from March to September.

The eThekwini Municipality spent the most on Covid-19-related expenditure during the period 15 March to 11 September, spending R475 169 850.

This was revealed by KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka who on Tuesday disclosed the latest figures for Covid-19 expenditure by the province’s municipalities during a briefing of the members of the Cogta portfolio committee in the provincial legislature.

Hlomuka’s department has directed municipalities to ensure that mayors table detailed reports on Covid-19 expenditure to councils for adoption.

“Such expenditure is to be included in the Special Adjustments Budget allowed for in respect of 2019/2020 by the National Treasury Circular 99 by 15 June 2020,” the department said.

The department has also requested councils across the province “to assess expenditure on extraordinary measures introduced as a result of Covid-19 lockdown and consider a comprehensive council item with financial and non-financial reports in the context of the regulations for urgent and emergency spending to prevent unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure”.

“While we appreciate that municipalities are an independent sphere of government, we have a responsibility to ensure that we thoroughly assess any expenditure to ascertain whether all relevant policies were followed in this procurement,” said Hlomuka.

The top 10 municipalities after eThekwini with the highest Covid-19 expenditure in KZN are:

• Umhlathuze – R89 678 759
• Ugu – R28 876 322
• Msunduzi – R23 867 489
• Umzinyathi – R13 800 821
• Uphongolo – R12 918 763
• Ilembe – R8 749 406
• Jozini – R8 685 892
• Umdoni – R6 043 900
• Mthonjaneni – R5 650 284
• KwaDukuza – R4 796 432

The department has also requested municipalities across the province to provide it with a list of the service providers who were utilised in relation to the Covid-19 expenditure.

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