THE Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) recently commended the eThekwini Municipality for its commitment to transparency and comprehensive reporting addressing various challenges across governance, financial management and service delivery. 

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Led by Mayor Cyril Xaba, representatives from the municipality presented themselves before the Standing Committee in Cape Town on May 20. The purpose of the meeting was to provide a thorough account of a wide array of operational and administrative issues relevant to the city’s functioning.

Purpose of meeting

Songezo Zibi, chairperson of SCOPA, expressed his gratitude to Xaba and City Manager Musa Mbhele. He noted their timely submission of required information to the committee, along with their diligence in ensuring all pertinent officials were present for the discussions.

Xaba welcomed the opportunity for dialogue and said that it is a crucial mechanism designed to enhance both accountability and oversight functions within the municipal framework.

“I made a commitment to the auditor-general (AG) last year, which I continue to uphold today. This includes improving performance, transparency, accountability and governance within the municipality,” he said.

Results of attempted interventions

The municipality reported that these concerted interventions had begun to yield tangible positive results. Specifically, the number of audit findings had decreased from 25 in the 2022/23 financial year to 13 by the 2024/25 financial year.

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The still-outstanding findings pertained to areas such as the management of expenditure, procurement processes, contract administration and the implementation of consequence management.

Improving audit findings 

The City is in the process of introducing an online invoice processing system and a new tender management system; these new systems are an effort to bolster its compliance measures.

Regarding its financial performance, the municipality affirmed that it had consistently received unqualified audit opinions for the last five years.

Municipal officials informed SCOPA that the City’s budget was comprehensively funded and aligned with its developmental priorities. The municipality said its current collection rate stood aligned with the established norms set by the National Treasury. It also confirmed that all payments to major suppliers were current.

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Justice served

The City also provided the committee with an update on various concerns associated with the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). Municipal officials disclosed that investigations carried out by the City Integrity and Investigations Directorate had reached their conclusion. As a result, disciplinary actions had been initiated against those individuals found to be implicated in wrongdoing.

Work in progress

The municipality explained that a significant portion of the increase in irregular expenditure could be attributed to a failure to adhere to the Preferential Procurement Regulations. The City assured the committee that by the end of the next financial year there should be no irregular expenditure arising from local content non-compliance,

Xaba noted that the City was considerably intensifying its efforts to mitigate water losses and enhance the reliability of its supply. These actions were being undertaken as part of its Water and Sanitation Turnaround Strategy. 

Xaba assured the committee that all matters raised during the engagement would continue to receive focused attention.

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