KZN municipalities 'refuse provincial Treasury's help' to fix finances

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Finance MEC Francois Rodgers told Parliament that struggling municipalities in the province refused the provincial treasury’s help to get their finances above board.

The Cooperative Governance Committee was on an oversight visit to the province, probing the auditor-general’s municipal audit findings for 2024.

Rodgers said where the national treasury had been withholding grant funding from municipalities that were not adhering to payment agreements with Eskom and water boards, there had been a marked improvement in the management of finances.

The provincial executive told Parliament that a number of municipalities had adopted unfunded budgets.

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Rodgers said money owing to Eskom remained municipalities’ biggest debt, but his hands were tied.

“We don’t have the legislative power to take any particular action. All we can do is highlight it, communicate and try and resolve it. We don’t have the power to enforce any corrective steps.”

Rodgers added that where he had sent in teams to assist struggling municipalities to manage their cash, he had often encountered pushback.

“It really doesn’t help that a municipal manager comes to me and says we need your support, but the mayor and the council does not buy into the programme. It makes it very difficult for us to achieve results,” Rodgers added.

Among councils that reportedly rebuffed the provincial treasury’s assistance were the district municipalities of Amajuba, Ugu and Zululand.

Rodgers said where the treasury had assisted municipalities, they achieved clean audits.