SEDIBENG.- The Vaal Business Cooperation (VBC) has written to the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) requesting an oversight visit to the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM).

Klippies Kritzinger, VBC CEO, has written to Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa and the CoGTA Portfolio Committee and said that, as a concerned business organisation, they are “plagued by a municipality that has become a national disgrace”.

Kritzinger said the letter (which can be seen on one of VBC’s social media platforms) is an urgent call from business and residents for Parliament to intervene decisively.

“We humbly request that the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance conducts a formal oversight visit to Emfuleni within 30 days from receipt of this letter, to directly witness the evidence of failure, maladministration, and outright abuse of public resources.”

1. Collapse of basic services

• Refuse Collection has completely collapsed in most parts of Vanderbijlpark, Sebokeng, Sharpeville, Vereeniging, and Evaton. Illegal dumping has taken over parks, streets, and school zones.
• Sewage flows openly in residential streets, businesses, and near crèches and schools.
• The electricity infrastructure has collapsed.
• Water provision is erratic and unreliable.
• Roads across Emfuleni are war zones.

2. Financial chaos and gross mismanagement

• Emfuleni has unpaid creditors exceeding R10b, including long-standing debts to Eskom, Rand Water, and dozens of local contractors who have not been paid for over 36 months.
• Every financial year, hundreds of millions in MIG (Municipal Infrastructure Grant) funds are returned unspent, as confirmed in the Auditor-General’s reports.
• The Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) is defunct. It has failed to table a single oversight report since late 2022.
• The organisational structure is bloated and abused.

3. Abuse of power and public funds

• Councillors and senior officials are regularly attending conferences in Durban, Cape Town, at public expense, often unrelated to their portfolio responsibilities.
• Annually, the Speaker’s office (overstaffed) spends millions on VIP funerals for former councillors who retired long before their deaths.
• Land use control and building compliance have collapsed entirely.
• The Vaal River City and Aerotropolis development projects have stalled due to incompetence, lack of land audits, and political squabbling in the council.

VBC’s request for immediate intervention:

1. A parliamentary oversight visit within 30 days, with site inspections of the Pump Stations, Emfuleni landfill sites, and Vanderbijlpark, Vereeniging CBD.
2. A forensic audit of all municipal trips, funerals, and hospitality expenses from 2021.
3. A recommendation for Section 139(1)(c) intervention — complete dissolution of the council and appointment of an administrator.
4. That the committee summon both the Executive Mayor, Speaker of Council, and Municipal Manager to account under oath.
5. A forensic audit on businesses owned by ELM managers and employees.

The letter states that the ELM is not (only) a failing and dysfunctional municipality, but it has already completely collapsed.

“It is a symbol of what happens when political corruption replaces accountability. It is no longer enough to write annual reports. The people of Emfuleni demand action, and Parliament must lead from the front.”

( VBC is NPO set up by business in Vereeniging and Vanderbijlpark to uplift the Vaal by partnering with business).