Durban - Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has warned about the dangers of political figures meddling in the administrative affairs at municipalities.
Delivering the keynote address at the Local Government Indaba held at the Durban International Convention Centre yesterday, the minister said the interface between the administrative and political wings was leading to questionable appointments at councils and compromising service delivery in parts of the country because many officials were not suitably qualified.
The end result of this, Dlamini Zuma warned, were service-delivery protests by communities which underlined that public trust in municipalities had been eroded.
“There is room for interface between the political and administrative wings at municipalities, but there is a point when it becomes unhealthy when politicians insist on certain appointments.
“If you happen to like a candidate applying for the municipal manager (post) but know that such a candidate does not qualify, then do not appoint that person,” the minister advised delegates at the gathering.
Earlier this year, the issue of alleged political interference in the appointment of municipal managers came to the fore in eThekwini Municipality. The ANC in the province was accused of having a preferred candidate and the opposition parties voted against the candidate being appointed.
The ANC denied allegations of interference. The search for a municipal manager for the city has started afresh. Dlamini Zuma said yesterday that failures in governance and the lack of sound financial management at municipalities had emerged as some of the key challenges identified by the department last year.
The minister also conceded that while there was a general agreement that local government was the most important sphere of government because of its proximity to the people, this sentiment had not been matched by the support necessary to make municipalities work.
“We should be deploying the most highly skilled people and providing other resources to the local government sphere so that it works. And so the call for a relook of the funding model should be made to the appropriate minister,” she said.
She was referring to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana after a representative from the SA Local Government Association (Salga) had asked her to review the funding model for municipalities, especially those in rural areas.
According to the minister it was important for municipalities to prioritise local economic development, because if it was implemented properly it would benefit local government and create opportunities for many.
Dlamini Zuma warned that without development, there was a danger of many people viewing the government as an employer.
“In countries where the government is the main employer we should be worried because that is not a sign of stability. That is why you have coups in many countries with such a reality.”
She appealed for greater co-operation between local government and traditional leadership, warning that working in silos would yield little benefit while creating room for community unrest over lack of services.
In an earlier address, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala expressed worry at the performance of some municipalities in the province, noting that while there were pockets of success and improvements in the province, the auditor-general had been clear and scathing about the recent performance of many municipalities in the province.
“As reported by the A-G (auditor-general), the state of SA local government is in decline and there is an increase in service delivery challenges. The A-G has again called for strong political leadership and implementation of consequence management.
“We agree with Salga that we should be intolerant of mediocrity and incompetence and that more must be done to punish poor performance and reward excellent performance,” said Zikalala.
He added that it was also worrying to see that government officials continue to do work with the state, noting that the awards to state officials amounted to R254 million (90 municipalities) in 2020/2021.
Further to this, he pointed out that at 22 municipalities, the awards to close family members were not disclosed in financial statements as required and the value of the undisclosed awards was R13m. “We must be united to root out these practices and the KZN provincial government will support all efforts by officials and law enforcement agencies to eliminate this challenge,” Zikalala said.
He observed that the gathering, which had municipal representatives from across the province, came at a crucial time for the province.
“In the month of July, which is a poignant reminder of the destructive violence that befell KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng last year, we must ensure that our discussions help us to make local government… better manage conflicts and to respond adequately to them while preventing loss of life, economic destruction, and loss of jobs,” said the premier.
The gathering is expected to develop a blueprint for municipalities to work more efficiently in delivering services to communities across the province