An aerial view of the Pietermaritzburg City Hall, home of Msunduzi Municipality.
Durban — The National Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) laid out its plans to help the Msunduzi Municipality which is facing financial challenges and how it can help rescue it.
This follows a parliamentary written question and reply by the EFF’s Mazwikayise Blose, who asked Cogta Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa what plans his department put in place to assist the municipality, which appears to be facing significant financial challenges and the steps that have been taken to help rescue the municipality from its current situation.
In his response, Hlabisa said the following processes were followed:
“The municipality has established a revenue enhancement steering committee that meets every Wednesday to discuss revenue enhancement and the challenges contributing to municipal collection issues. KZN Cogta participates in the meetings and provides technical guidance,” Hlabisa said.
On the help provided, Hlabisa said most challenges are mainly due to theft and illegal connections by customers. Sometimes, the municipality disconnects customers during the day, but many of them, including some large businesses, reconnect illegally at night.
“The municipality is trying to address these issues despite having limited resources,” Hlabisa said.
He also said the municipality receives support for its bulk water and electricity accounts and has successfully applied for Eskom debt relief.
“Currently, discussions between the municipality and uMngeni-uThukela Water, facilitated by KZN Cogta, are ongoing. These discussions aim to establish synergy and ensure full support from uMngeni-uThukela Water in setting cost-reflective tariffs and reducing water losses,” Hlabisa said.
He added that the municipality is receiving assistance with implementing Section 32 of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
“This ensures that consequence management is enforced for unauthorised expenditures incurred by the municipality,” Hlabisa explained.
“Capacity-building sessions are being offered to members of the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) upon request.
“Additionally, ongoing financial management training sessions are being conducted by KZN Cogta, with some sessions held in collaboration with other stakeholders. The most recent training session, which focused on revenue management, took place in June 2024,” Hlabisa said.
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