POLOKWANE – During a special council meeting last Tuesday, the Polokwane Municipality approved several strategic governance, infrastructure, housing and financial matters in an effort to strengthen accountability, improve service delivery and safeguard public resources.

In a post-council media release, municipal spokesperson Thipa Selala alluded to some of the salient matters that were discussed.

Delegation of Powers reviewed

Council approved the reviewed Delegation of Powers, an important governance instrument that enhances efficiency, transparency and accountability across the municipality.

The revised framework aligns municipal operations with applicable legislation while empowering executive directors and delegated officials to make administrative decisions within clearly defined limits, thus ensuring faster decision-making, uninterrupted service delivery and strengthened accountability throughout the institution.

Stronger accountability for construction projects

Council approved the construction contract policy on retention following a comprehensive public participation process. The policy establishes a uniform system for managing retention monies on all municipal construction projects.

Under this framework, the municipality will withhold a predetermined portion of payments due to contractors until the expiry of the contractual defects’ liability period. This serves as a financial safeguard to ensure contractors deliver quality workmanship and honour their contractual obligations after project completion.

Should a contractor complete a municipal infrastructure project – such as a road, building, bridge or other public facility – and the structure develops defects or collapses within the prescribed defects liability period due to poor workmanship or failure to meet contractual standards, the municipality may utilise the retained funds to compel corrective action or undertake the necessary repairs without placing an additional financial burden on ratepayers.

2026/27 housing projects approved

Council approved the 2026/27 housing projects, paving the way for the delivery of 260 housing opportunities across urban and rural communities.

The approved allocation includes:

• 122 urban housing units allocated through the national housing needs register
• 10 units reserved for qualifying special cases
• 128 rural housing units distributed across 15 rural wards

Employee salary adjustments

In line with the 2024-2029 SALGBC multi-year salary and wage collective agreement, council approved the implementation of a 4.75% across-the-board salary increase for qualifying municipal employees with effect from July 1, 2026.

The implementation also includes adjustments to medical aid contributions, homeowner allowances and other employment benefits as provided for in the collective agreement.

Mayor: ‘Every rand lost to poor governance is a rand stolen from service delivery’

Speaking after the special council sitting, Mayor John Mpe reaffirmed council’s commitment to financial sustainability, ethical leadership and sound governance.

“We continue to demonstrate that sound leadership and financial discipline produce tangible results. We are now collecting more than 90% of the revenue billed to residents, reflecting growing public confidence and a stronger culture of payment that enables us to reinvest in service delivery,” Mpe reportedly said.

Council also deliberated on critical recruitment processes, particularly the appointment of executive directors for water and sanitation as well as energy services, because these are strategic portfolios that must drive its developmental agenda.

“What gives us confidence is that the tide has turned. Irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure continues to decline, while our audit outcomes have steadily improved under this council. Going forward, every executive director will be held directly accountable for financial discipline. The elimination of irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure will form part of their performance management, because every rand lost to poor governance is a rand stolen from service delivery.”

Mpe stressed that the resolutions adopted by council demonstrate the municipality’s commitment to strengthening governance, protecting public resources, accelerating service delivery and ensuring that every decision taken contributes to building a capable, accountable and developmental local government that serves the people of Polokwane with integrity.