President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on 4 January 2022. Picture: Jacques Nelles
President Cyril Ramaphosa has taken a swipe at those working in local government focused on serving their own interests.
The president delivered a keynote address at the two-day Local Government Summit on Wednesday, where he insisted that “more diagnosis” on the state of local government was not needed “because we know what the challenges and problems are”.
“Reports from the auditor-general, National Treasury and the state of local government reports point to the inefficiencies, maladministration, lack of financial control, poor governance and the likes.
“It talks also about political contestation that leads to the paralysis that we find in local government. And it also talks about how at times there is perceived political interference in the running of the administration of local government,” he said.
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“It is therefore appropriate that these are some of the critical challenges that this summit is discussing.
“But also importantly how local government should be funded because in the main one of the recurring problems we often hear about is the lack of funding for local government and that the formula for funding local government should be evaluated and even changed,” Ramaphosa continued.
He also said it was important that local government was well run to attract investments.
“When there is more investment and business expansion jobs are created, livelihoods are supported and the benefits circulate in the local area. That is why accelerating economic growth, attracting investment and creating jobs must be at the centre of the efforts of all spheres of government,” the president added.
Ramaphosa said mayors and councillors needed to drive the promotion of local economic development from start to finish.
However, the instability within governance structures and processes first needed to be addressed.
“The political contestation and infighting that is wreaking havoc in our municipalities must come to an end. We should once and for all end the hijacking of municipal councils and administrations for self-enrichment and personal gain,” he said.
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He added that local government should employ people that are able to perform the functions they are responsible for.
“[They] should [also] carry them out in an accountable, transparent, efficient, effective and responsive manner. In carrying out this mandate, municipalities must receive the requisite support of all other spheres of government, public entities and state institutions,” he said.
The president, last month, signed into law the Local Government: Municipal Systems Amendment Act.
The new law, among others, bars municipal managers and senior staff from holding political office – whether appointed in a permanent, temporary or acting capacity.
In her audit of municipal figures for the 2020/21 financial year, Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke reported that municipalities incurred most of the R21.10 billion of government irregular expenditure, mainly due to non-compliance with supply chain legislation.
Maluleke had lamented that local government finances were under pressure, but municipalities relied on short-term and costly solutions, such as consultants, to compensate for lack of financial management and reporting skills.
The report showed that financial reporting consultants cost local government R5,31 billion over the term of the previous administration, and 70% of municipalities used consultants for every year of the term.
The audit outcomes also revealed that up to 28% of local municipalities were on the brink of collapsing.
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