The City of Johannesburg’s decision to reabsorb municipal entities into the City administration is the best decision it has taken since being elected.
This according to sociologist Dr Liela Groenewald, who said that it will benefit both ratepayers and those who are too poor to pay for the most basic amounts of water and electricity that are necessary for life and health.
The City’s MMC for Finance, Dr Rabelani Dagada recently revealed this, saying it was done to ensure the entity’s boards do not wield too much power. These entities, such as City Power, Pikitup and Metrobus among others, are run as separate companies, but wholly owned by the City. Now, the administration plans to be more involved in running them.
Agreeing with the move, Groenewald said ratepayers can hope to see an improvement in service delivery if municipalities are directly accountable for these services. “Municipal entities are often run as business entities and may operate on the principles of making a profit.
“The first priority is the sustainability of the private sector itself instead of the welfare of residents who cannot pay for services.” The municipality, on the other hand, has a duty to provide those services. “And when they do so, there are untold benefits,” she said.
Groenewald added that when services are the work of a separate entity, voters lose some power to hold those who are responsible for service delivery, accountable.
Another fault Groenewald finds in entities as they are, is a private-sector-like management of the municipality. If the approach changes, she believes cost savings are possible.
This kind of approach can sometimes lead civil servants to be more loyal to the individuals who control their promotion than to the documented policies they are expected to implement. When this happens, it can lead to faster staff turnover and a loss of skill in the municipality, which increases running costs, she said.
Groenewald said Dagada’s comments do not make it clear whether the internal structure of the entities will change, adding that it may not be necessary to achieve a range of benefits. “This change in structure in no way prevents public-private partnerships, but it means we are able to hold politicians accountable,” she added.
Dagada said, however, that consultations were taking place, adding that the process would take time.
