Parliamentary Finance Committees to ramp up oversight as municipal infrastructure crumbles

Parliament’s finance committees have announced plans to intensify their focus on local government as calls mount for poor and rural municipalities to be better resourced.

Songezo Zibi, Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), expressed ongoing concern that municipal dysfunction is actively obstructing the country’s economic recovery efforts.

During a finance cluster briefing in Parliament on Monday, Sanny Ndhlovu, Chairperson of the Select Committee on Finance, highlighted a critical lack of funding available to repair ailing infrastructure, which continues to hamper service delivery.

While National Treasury intends to tighten fiscal controls on poorly performing municipalities, Ndhlovu cautioned that rural areas should not be "unduly punished" for their economic circumstances.

"Many municipalities, particularly in rural provinces, are structurally unable to generate sufficient own revenue," Ndhlovu stated.

"Unlike metropolitan municipalities, rural municipalities often have limited industrial or commercial activities."

However, Zibi argued that structural issues are exacerbated by internal failures. He noted that Municipal Public Accounts Committees (MPACs) are currently failing to curb wastage and corruption.

"Not only do Municipal Public Accounts Committees appear to be weak and ineffectual, there also seems to be a culture of impunity when it comes to key infrastructure projects," said Zibi.

In the coming weeks, SCOPA is scheduled to meet with officials from the OR Tambo District Municipality and Buffalo City Metro in the Eastern Cape.

The meetings aim to assess progress made since oversight visits last year, following highly critical performance reports issued by both the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the Auditor-General.