Metro, councillors clash over accountability at forum meetings

The municipality has dismissed claims from Centurion councillors that officials have failed to present reports and attend Regional Council Forum (RCF) meetings in Region 4 over the past three months.

These reports are essential updates from various municipal departments, intended to inform councillors about service delivery progress, ongoing projects, and issues affecting their wards.

Sthembiso Skosana, speaking on behalf of the office of the MMC for Corporate and Shared Services and Political Head for Region 4, Kholofelo Morodi, insisted that it was inaccurate to say reports had not been tabled.

“Reports have been tabled as expected; however, in some cases, they were referred back to departments for corrections or for additional information before finalisation,” he said.

“This is part of ensuring that the information shared with councillors is accurate, complete, and meaningful.”

Skosana emphasised that reports are presented at every RCF meeting.

He added that when a report is sent back, it does not mean it was not presented, but rather that councillors or the Chair requested further detail for the sake of accountability and clarity.

Responding to complaints from councillors about absent officials, Skosana said officials are expected and mandated to attend the RCFs.

While conceding that there may have been isolated cases of absence, he noted that the majority of departments have participated, and measures are being put in place to ensure stronger compliance going forward.

“Councillors already have access to reports through the Regional Head and the Secretariat in the Office of the Mayor. In addition, to enhance accountability and transparency, the city is exploring streaming RCF meetings, as they are public meetings by nature,” said Skosana.

He added that the metro is taking steps to improve the timeliness of departmental submissions and the consistency of presentations.

“Where reports require corrections, departments are expected to resubmit promptly.”

“The city remains committed to ensuring that councillors are empowered with the information they need to communicate accurately with residents,” he said.

Skosana added that municipal departments will continue to be held accountable for timely submissions and attendance at the RCF meetings.

“We appreciate the oversight role councillors play and will continue strengthening the RCF process so it remains a platform of transparency, accountability, and effective service delivery communication.”

Despite the metro’s assurances, Centurion councillors have raised strong concerns about what they say is a lack of accountability at RCF meetings.

In a video message to residents on September 2, Ward 70 councillor Marika Kruger-Muller told residents this was now the third month in which they had not received reports from the metro, with some officials not present to deliver presentations on their reports.

She explained that RCF meetings are meant to provide councillors with feedback from departments so that they can report back to residents.

“We feel, as Centurion councillors, that this is insufficient service provided to us. We are not being given the tools and the information to communicate with our residents, to keep them updated on the progress and the programmes happening in Region 4.”

She added that councillors were planning to escalate the matter.

“We will take it further with the Speaker’s Office and with the heads of departments. If we receive any updates, any programmes, any reports, we communicate accordingly, but if the department does not supply them to us, we cannot assist residents.”

Ward 64 councillor Alta de Kock recently confirmed to Rekord that the issue of missing reports and absent officials had been ongoing for about three months.

“Even in my previous public meeting, I asked for reports regarding streetlights, among other things, and we never received those reports,” said De Kock.

She claimed departments don’t submit them, which makes it difficult for her as a councillor when she does not get feedback on things that are happening in her ward.

De Kock argued that accountability was lacking.

“None of the municipal departments are accountable because as soon as we raise concerns about these issues, they blame other departments,” she said.

She explained that the absence of reports leaves councillors and residents without crucial updates.

“With streetlights in my ward, we don’t know which ones the city is going to work on, which streetlights have been reported and how many of them have been reported. We also do not know how many have been fixed and how many are still outstanding.”

She added that the lack of feedback has discouraged community participation in these meetings.

“The number of residents who come to these meetings has decreased because they think it does not help anymore, and some officials don’t even attend,” she said.

Ward 57 councillor David Farquharson also criticised the metro, saying there is a big problem with information flow from the city to ward councillors.

He emphasised that the metro needs a live reporting system to track local issues, but is instead using an outdated system.

Farquharson said the current reporting framework forces councillors to rely on personal networks rather than formal data.

“Currently, tracking issues requires going around and asking contacts for information. The existing reporting system is poor and lacks basic data for decision-making.”

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