DA mayoral candidate takes a stab at ‘corrupt’ Ekurhuleni governance

The Mayor of Ekurhuleni, Mondli Gungubele, has made much of the recent Moody’s rating and, at great expense, has taken out full page adverts in the press.

The rating will allow for cheaper borrowings, but if you don’t even spend your budget then what is the point of a borrowing facility, no matter how cheap it might be?

Let’s put this into context. The rating has improved from the last evaluation on November 11, but overall has declined from stable to negative.

The rating is reflective of a large diversified economy that includes the airport – these are given factors and not the creation of a municipality.

In fact, the Aerotropolis study conducted by the municipality in 2013, at a cost of R100m, has yet to be presented to council and, to date, no direct jobs associated with it have been created, bar consulting jobs, that is.

Also, any real development requires a significant wake-up and shift from SAA’s complacency, or else the airlines and airports in the gulf, Ethiopia and Kenya, who are waiting in the wings, will eclipse any opportunity OR Tambo International Airport may have.

Then there is the fact that the manufacturing base has been declining for years and this requires attention, improvement, investment and support to recapture the comparative advantage it had.

But the municipality is not spending nearly enough on infrastructure maintenance and Capex.

Also, there is a shortage of technically skilled staff.

A R5-b capital budget has been released, but it should really be R10-b and, while some social spend is necessary, the bulk should go to job-creating infrastructure.

The maintenance spend is down in real terms compared to the previous year.

Now, let’s examine the cash management, which is described as prudent.

The municipality has 60 days unencumbered cash, while the target is 55 days. It has been as high as 70 days.

There was little point in allowing banks to profit off this instead of spending on job-creating infrastructure.

Collection rates were 85 per cent in 2001/2. There has been some more improvement since and the target is now 93 per cent – which has never been achieved.

In the third quarter of last year it was 90 per cent.

Also remember that, according to GRAP, if you spend or under-spend recklessly it’s good, as long as you report it, which then leads to a clean audit.

Now let’s turn to water and sewerage.

We have a blue drop status for water, which means good quality if you have piped water – many don’t.

But we have no green drop status for sewerage and have huge downstream and water table problems.

Only two or three sectors of 17 have green drop status.

Water leaks result in a loss of 32 per cent;15 per cent is the acceptable norm for uncontrolled and uncollected water loss (townships included).

And then there is the burgeoning issue of the plethora of scandals – illegally appointed city manager, water meter tender scams (R500-m), roads tender fraud by senior officials, IT tender (R42-m), refuse tender and more running to many millions, if not billions.

In 2012, Jacob Zuma described Ekurhuleni as the most corrupt municipality in Gauteng. When even JZ calls you corrupt you really must have problems.