Opposition parties have slammed the metro, accusing it of collapsing service delivery, reckless spending, gross financial mismanagement, and ignoring repeated Auditor-General (AG) findings.

The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) said it supports development and investment that create jobs and attract investment to the city, but will not stand by as the metro’s financial crisis stalls growth and destroys confidence.

FF Plus councillor Mari Joubert said a report by the oversight committee on economic development and spatial planning shows that Tshwane is increasingly relying on private developers to drive growth, while its own ability to provide essential infrastructure has crumbled.

She said the city is in a state of administrative and financial decay, spending billions on projects that never reach completion, while basic infrastructure and services crumble.

“The city is failing at the most basic level of governance,” Joubert said.

“It keeps calling for investors and new developments, but lacks sufficient capacity to provide bulk services such as electricity, water, sewage and roads. In addition, if agreements are not properly structured, the metro risks incurring unforeseen costs.”

Joubert said the AG’s repeated findings of poor reinvestment in essential infrastructure prove that the metro has abandoned long-term planning. “The AG has repeatedly pointed out that there has been no reinvestment in outdated infrastructure over the past decade.

“The metro’s engineering department simply does not have the budget to provide the bulk services required by new urban expansions, including electricity and water supply, sewage, roads and stormwater networks,” she explained.

She accused the metro of creating an ‘economic deadlock’ by blocking its own growth.

“The city can’t deliver services without revenue, but it can’t raise revenue because it’s not delivering services. This cycle of incompetence is killing Tshwane’s potential.”

Another FF Plus councillor, Nick Pascoe, said the FF Plus is seriously concerned about the metro’s constant failure to adhere to the principles of sound financial management, effective project execution, and constitutional service delivery.

Pascoe said the metro has already spent R2.2-billion, 95% of its adjusted capital budget for 2024/25, yet more than half of its 181 capital projects remain delayed or incomplete.

He said that this is revealed in the city’s capital budget performance report for the 2024/25 financial year.

Pascoe added that if other financial obligations, such as contracts and similar commitments, are included, this figure climbs to 98.5%.

According to Pascoe, over R1-billion has been poured into projects that are nowhere near completion. This is not bad management; it’s outright failure.

He said Tshwane’s internal oversight systems have collapsed, with the once-powerful Section 80 committee now ‘paralysed and useless’.

“That committee used to hold officials and contractors accountable. Today, it’s nothing more than a rubber stamp. There’s no root-cause analysis, no remedial action, no consequence management and no accountability,” Pascoe said.

He said the metro’s capital budget performance report shows that only 47% of the 181 capital projects have reached their planned milestones. Of the remaining projects, 51% are delayed and 2% have been completely suspended.

“This means that over R1-billion in expenditure has not translated into functional or completed infrastructure.

“This glaring contradiction between high expenditure and low project completion points to systemic shortcomings in the metro’s management capacity,” he stated.

Pascoe said in the FF Plus’s view, the entire situation constitutes a serious breach of city residents’ trust, and a violation of the constitution’s requirements for sustainable service delivery and financial accountability.

“To effectively address this crisis, the Section 80 committee should be revived with a stronger mandate to improve oversight and thoroughly investigate contract failures.”

He emphasised that root-cause analyses and transparent remedial reporting for every delayed or suspended project should be mandatory.

“In addition, a capital recovery task team should be established to audit suspended projects, reallocate funds, and restore service delivery. Tshwane residents deserve infrastructure that works, not empty promises or misleading reports,” Pascoe emphasised.

He added that the party will keep fulfilling its watchdog role to hold the metro accountable.

Rekord reached out to the Tshwane metro for comment, but no response was received by the time of publication.

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