A house drenched with sewage and a mound of accumulating rubbish, all in Motherwell yet the Municipality underspends money meant for those services. Picture by- Joseph Chirume
By Joseph Chirume
Qgeberha
A recent report by the Auditor General (AG) paints a tasteless and an appalling atmosphere at the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. The report flagged several issues that could be easily executed by the City Fathers but it seems there’s no will to provide quality services to the people of the Friendly City.
Titled “Consolidated General Report On Local Government Audit Outcomes,”2023-24. The foreword from the Auditor General, Tsakani Maluleke puts NMB in the same class with some poor performing municipalities.
Maluleke says, “The messages in my last three general reports have been aimed at the local government administration that took office in 2021-the new mayors, speakers and council members who were elected to represent their communities. I called on them to work with urgency to overhaul a local government characterized by insufficient accountability, falling service delivery, poor financial management and governance, weak institutional capability and widespread instability.
“Despite the commitments made in response to these calls, action has been too slow and has had little impact on the lived realities of South Africa.” The report further states that Metros were not performing due to a lack of institutional capability and integrity.
While the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality was considered stable on the Metro credit ratings and ratings outlook as assigned by rating agencies, it is among the biggest contributors to unauthorized expenditure in 2023-24 with R1, 44 billion. NMB trails City of Johannesburg (R2,76 billion) and City of Tshwane (2,15 billion).
NMB was cited for poor revenue management practices as it depended heavily on estimated water and electricity meter readings. “Metros lose a significant amount of revenue through water and electricity losses, putting further strain on their financial position.”
Nelson Mandela Bay lost R0,37 billion on water and R1.20 billion on electricity in the same period. The AG says Nelson Mandela Bay was the only metro that received the regional bulk infrastructure grant, which is aimed at improving bulk water and sanitation infrastructure. The Metro underspent the grant by 41% due to two capital projects that did not get off the ground because of implementation challenges.
“Metros are underspending these grants because of a lack of institutional capability to plan and execute infrastructure projects as well as ineffective project management processes,” says the AG findings. Furthermore, the AG reveals that NMB spent R17.08 million in 2023-24 on fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
It is also one of the metros that failed to efficiently maintain their road infrastructure. It was also found that the metro did not have an approved maintenance plan. The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) says it is deeply concerned by the findings of the Auditor-General.
SAFTU says, “The report confirms what workers, the unemployed, and the poor have long known – that this municipality is being run into the ground by incompetence, mismanagement, and a total disregard for working-class communities. “Despite being the only metro to receive the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant, a critical intervention to aim at improving bulk water and sanitation infrastructure- the municipality underspent the grant by 41%.
“This is criminal negligence in a city facing chronic water insecurity and failing sanitation systems. Communities in Kwazakele, Motherwell, and Chatty continue to suffer water cuts and sewerage overflows, while the money meant to fix these issues lies idle due to so-called “implementation challenges.”
SAFTU adds, “The situation at the Motherwell NU30 housing project is yet another insult to our people. The Auditor-General confirms that houses were approved for handover despite structural defects and no electricity. These are not homes- they are shells. People are being handed keys to hardship, not dignity.
Meanwhile the Democratic Alliance is lukewarm on NMB’s proposed 2025-26 budget saying it passes the buck to ratepayers to fund the mismanagement by the city fathers.
The Democratic Alliance’s NMB Mayoral candidate, Retief Odendaal said in a statement, “Nelson Mandela Bay faces two crippling financial issues; firstly, its electricity department is projected to bankrupt the metro within the next three to four years. This year the municipality has already spent R600 million more on purchasing electricity that it received from sales to the public. The collapsed electricity department is projecting a record loss of R1,3 billion in the current financial year.
“Secondly, the metro is hemorrhaging millions of rand due to its inability to spend grant funding. Over the last two financial years the administration’s dysfunction has lost a staggering R900 million in grant funding meant to build roads, and water and electricity infrastructure. This inability to spend is a crisis and, as of April this year, the municipality had only spent 38% (R752 million) of its R1,934 billion capital expenditure budget.”
Meanwhile NMB Executive Mayor, Babalwa Lobishe tried to cool down the fires as she remains steadfast that the metro will sail through the economic turbulence.
Addressing members of the mayoral committee on Wednesday, 04/06/2025, she said, “During the recent briefing, we were reminded of recurring concerns around governance and audit performance issues that have been raised before. The message is clear: we must act deliberately and consistently to resolve these matters, especially as we near the end of the current financial year.”
