Cape Town - Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said on Tuesday they were putting emphasis on functional Municipal Public Accounts Committees (MPACs) to ensure appropriate use of finances of councils.
Dlamini Zuma also said the political side of the councils should not be involved in procurement, but should play oversight over the administration.
She made the statement during the ministerial briefing on fiscal leakages in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).
Dlamini Zuma said leakages were caused by vandalism and theft, leading to a standstill in the delivery of important services such as water, sanitation and energy.
“A big part of these leakages has been a culture of non-payment which has seen ratepayers owing municipalities over R120 billion, of which billing inaccuracy is a major contributor.
“The most affected are the rural provinces on account of them not having the right quantity and technical capacity and affordable ratepayers base to consistently collect revenue to ensure consistent service delivery,” she said.
Dlamini Zuma also said the cause of leakages was due to ineffective governance structures and leadership as well as inappropriate political and administration interface.
“Sometimes you find that the people who should look after the fiscus in municipalities are not the most appropriately qualified or experienced in financial management,” she said.
Dlamini Zuma said they agreed with the National Treasury and MISA that there should be a framework for infrastructure building and maintenance.
“We agree part of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant, 10%, can be used to maintain the infrastructure.”
Director-general Avril Williams said fiscal leakages in local government have arisen from lapses in governance and other factors.
Williams said a number of municipalities have been in a dire financial position for a number of years.
“This has been noted by the auditor-general in her reports,” she said.
Williams also said some of the root causes of fiscal leakages related to failure by councils to appoint senior managers who have the requisite skills to provide service delivery.
“This also delays administration to approve service projects, leading to poor service delivery outcomes,” she said.
Williams stated that Cogta, in collaboration with Salga and National Treasury, have developed a framework to guide a process of implementing and monitoring municipal support and intervention plans.
Cape Times