Durban – KZN Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Portfolio Committee chairperson Zinhle Cele says it is in the best interests of everyone that KwaZulu-Natal’s leading municipalities of eThekwini and Msunduzi perform at their best in delivering services to people.
She said this on Thursday ahead of eThekwini Municipality’s scheduled appearance before the committee on Friday.
Cele expressed the committee’s concerns about the performance of the two municipalities, and other municipalities in the past, saying this had been one of the reasons for regular meetings with the identified municipalities.
“eThekwini is the economic hub of KZN and Msunduzi is the provincial capital and therefore it is important that they set an example for other municipalities to follow,” she said.
The meeting, she added, was prompted by observations from the office of the Auditor General that there were instances in which the municipalities were not spending some of their grants and this affected the delivery of services.
“So that is why we are meeting eThekwini (and Msunduzi municipalities) because we want to get a sense that they are spending their allocations as they should. It is part of our oversight duty as the portfolio committee,” the chairperson continued.
She noted that eThekwini’s infrastructure had been severely damaged by floods and that the national government had allocated funds for the city’s reconstruction.
“We simply want to get a sense that the city is ready to spend the funds once they are released next month because we do not want to have a case of unspent money,” Cele emphasised.
The committee’s meeting with eThekwini Municipality will take place at the provincial government’s offices in Mayville, Durban, on Friday.