DA calls for debate on the collapsing state of local government

The Democratic Alliance (DA) will today write to the Speaker of Parliament requesting that the collapsing state of local government in the country be discussed as a matter of public importance at the next sitting of Parliament in September.

The Minister of Provincial and Local Government, Sydney Mufamadi, needs to explain to the nation what he is doing to solve the mounting problems in municipalities which continue to undermine the provision of quality basic services where they are most needed. These include the fact that:

• Only 5% of the 247 municipalities audited by the Auditor-General for the 2006/07 financial year received clean audit reports.
• The country's 283 municipalities are currently owed a total of R44 billion for unpaid municipal services while the six metros are jointly owed R35 billion.
• The DPLG left more than R2 billion of its capital expenditure budget for the past five years unspent.
• Municipalities did not spend more than R640 million of their Municipal Infrastructure Grants (MIG) between 2004 and 2007.
• 30% of the country's councillors who are illiterate have indicated that they are incapacitated to perform their duties with the required distinction.

This situation is aggravated by the ANC government's insistence on the political appointment of municipal officials based on their loyalty to the party rather than ability to do the job. Local government is a key sphere of government which touches the lives of many vulnerable South Africans.

However it seems the ANC is more intent on who makes it into procurement and tender allocation committees than it is with service delivery matters. As a result service delivery takes a distant second to the ANC's internal battles.

Yet the ANC government continues to ignore the challenges that prevent municipalities from fulfilling their mandate while spending elaborately on unnecessary ceremonies and their own benefits.

The unresolved trend of underspending and mismanaging of municipal funds which must be used to finance infrastructure for basic services to poor communities undermines the government's commitment for a better life for all.

These problems are not a new issue. They have been going on for years without any improvement. Not even the government's highly publicized Project Consolidate, which was established to help municipalities to spend their finances wisely in order to provide quality basic services to the public, has achieved this. All the while, Sydney Mufamadi, whose inept leadership is partly responsible for the crisis in local government, remains detached from his portfolio.

It is unacceptable that the same problems that have plagued local government for the past four years are still fresh today while the Minister has not fully accounted to Parliament.

Statement by Willem Doman MP, Democratic Alliance spokesperson on local government, August 27 2008