KwaDukuza Municipality faces scrutiny over R1.2-billion flood repair grant projects

External audit findings have cast significant doubt on whether the municipality is able to manage its R1.2-billion flood repair grant.

In a presentation to the KwaDukuza municipality (KDM) council last week, Auditor General senior audit manager Martin Coates flagged internal control deficiencies which led to sub-par workmanship and delays on the R7.45-million Kwamfanomdala bridge in Etete, where work has stopped.

The bridge, which was among those washed away in the 2022 floods, was a ‘key project’ selected as part of the audit process and the only one that was visited.

Another 400 Municipal Disaster Grant funded projects across KwaDukuza are at various stages of completion.

“We found significant issues within the Kwamfanomdala audit on October 30 last year,” said Coates.

“It was 90% complete but showed a lack of quality work and experienced delays which raised the risk of further expenditure.”

As of June 30 last year, spending on the project had reached R6.03-million.

“We found there was an over-reliance on consultants who were appointed to do due diligence,” he said.

“There were no progress meetings and the delays in completing milestones were only identified towards the end of the project.”

Coates said the issues were identified by KDM before being raised in the audit and that various interventions had already been enacted.

A penalty clause in the contract was invoked to cover runover costs and some internal control measures have been changed.

Nevertheless, the audit report said there was still the possibility that the penalty “may not be sufficient to cover the cost of completing the project and rectifying any defects.”
There remains a risk that some project expenditure will end up being categorised as fruitless and wasteful.

“Project management challenges at the municipality are the root cause of other projects that were abandoned by contractors before completion in prior years, resulting in delayed service delivery and unbudgeted cost overruns,” read the report.

KwaDukuza mayor Lindile Nhaca said she was frustrated by some of the outcomes surrounding the projects.

Nhaca highlighted these key issues:

• Sub-par work and a lack of quality assurance by some municipal staff and engineers.• Accountability for poor performance and contract breaches was slow.
• Awarding contracts to companies with ongoing projects led to overcommitted contractors.
• Failure to address underperforming contractors and subcontractors who demand payments before completion.
• Concerns about civil engineering staff not prioritising the council’s interests.

She made no mention of consequence management for implicated staff.

KwaDukuza has struggled to spend its R1.2-billion grant, needing budget rollover approval from treasury to ensure that hundreds of millions of unspent funds were not forfeited last year.

The executive director position in the Civil Engineering department has also gone unfilled since Muzi Sithole left at the end of April.

An already hamstrung department will now need to deal with extra damages incurred during the most recent round of flash floods in early January.

A report to council last week indicated damage to five projects that were already under construction, including Hulett bridge, Malende main road, Strelitzia, Rockwell Drive and Byrne Street.

Four completed projects at Venus Drive, Yellowwood Drive culvert, Primrose Road and the Smither culvert bridge were also affected.

This aside from new damages across KwaDukuza’s 30 wards, which ward councillors were still in the process of compiling.

Etete residents said they have not been told when work on the Kwamfanomdala bridge, which remains closed to anything larger than foot traffic, will restart.

Moses Nzuza said he hoped it would be soon because it had given him work.

“Unfortunately, we were told to halt our work around September last year and no valid reason was provided,” said Nzuza.

KDM did not respond to a request for comment.

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