Portfolio committee warns against using target achievements to mask municipal failure
Parliament's co-operative governance committee will scrutinise reported audit successes against real-world service delivery breakdowns and unspent grants in struggling municipalities.
The portfolio committee on co-operative governance and traditional affairs warned on Friday against reading performance-target achievements as proof that support to struggling municipalities is working.
Members were briefed by the office of the auditor-general on the 2025/26 audit outcomes of the department of co-operative governance, the department of traditional affairs and their entities.
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The committee, which has been visiting municipalities with poor 2024/25 audit outcomes, said it would test the reported results against dysfunction and service delivery problems on the ground.
The auditor-general reported that the portfolio achieved 89% of its planned targets. Chairperson Dr Zweli Mkhize said a high rate could also mean targets are set too low. “Is your achievement aligned to the challenges on the ground?” he asked. The committee will look at both how demanding the targets were and what the results mean in practice.
Despite meeting over 80% of its targets, the department missed important municipal support goals, including help for priority municipalities to draw up audit action plans and to spend their municipal infrastructure grant. It had aimed to ensure grantees spent at least 60% of allocations. Monitoring tracked expenditure, but not the progress or quality of projects.
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Mkhize said the committee would examine whether the department has the resources and structure to help struggling municipalities, and whether spending produces completed infrastructure that serves communities. Diversion of grant funds will also be interrogated.
Professionalising local government and strengthening municipal capacity will stay on the oversight agenda. The committee wants regular reports on controls to stop officials dismissed for misconduct in one municipality being appointed in another.
It will also seek more timely Section 47 and Section 48 reports, the consolidated annual performance reports that MECs for local government and the minister of co-operative governance and traditional affairs must submit under the Municipal Systems Act. Those reports can flag underperforming municipalities and propose remedial action.
The committee will monitor consequence management after the auditor-general reported R1.1b in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure across the portfolio that had not been dealt with.
It has asked for a detailed report on investigations, disciplinary steps and recovery efforts, including the community work programme contract, which has been under investigation for six years.
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