OPINION | Talk about fixing failing municipalities must be turned into action

For far too long the majority of municipalities in SA have been in shambles. Poor roads riddled with potholes, lack of clean drinking water, raw sewage running in some backyards, a shortfall in proper sanitation with some people still using the bucket system, and a lack of proper accommodation are all too familiar not only in our province, but across the country. 

Recurrent adverse audit outcomes, wasteful and fruitless expenditure, and failure to deliver even on basic services with little to no consequences by most of our municipalities is well known.

A few development projects in some of these municipalities end up delivered at inflated costs, while the majority either stall or turn into white elephants.

The Lesseyton Stadium in Komani, Water World and the Mdantsane Swimming Pool in East London, and several other pools in Komga, Butterworth and Mthatha are but some of the examples where millions have been spent with nothing to show for it. 

It is not surprising that, as the auditor-general’s report shows, only 34 of the country’s 257 municipalities obtained clean audits in the 2022/2023 financial year.    

It is in that context that the ANC seemed to hit the right note on Saturday in indicating that the party is working on a comprehensive plan on how local government could be improved.

Speaking on the sidelines of the NEC meeting in Boksburg, a party official said they would pay special attention to issues of corruption and governance in municipalities.

We have heard many similar remarks before. During the opening of parliament in July, President Cyril Ramaphosa stated that the seventh administration intended to “fix our struggling municipalities”.

While such statements are plausible, they are not new. And we wonder what new plans will the ANC implement to make sure what it is saying is put into action.

This is the same ANC that has presided over the dysfunctional municipalities for close to three decades.

 Surely, 30 years into democracy it is an indictment that we are still talking about such basics

Corrupt senior managers have avoided accountability by simply moving to other local authorities under the watch of the ANC. 

Coincidentally, over the weekend Public Service Commission chair Prof Somadoda Fikeni spoke about the need to take seriously the professionalisation of the public service.

He was speaking at the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation’s summit in the Drakensberg.

Surely, 30 years into democracy it is an indictment that we are still talking about such basics.

Is the ANC willing to professionalise the civil service? Is it willing to tackle corruption and bad governance head-on? 

Rhetoric alone will not solve local government problems. It’s about time that talk is accompanied by real action.

Anything to the contrary means we will continue to mourn as service delivery deteriorates in municipalities.