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Transparency and discipline break down across the metros

Metro councils became even more accountable over August. In Johannesburg, opposition parties accused the Government of Local Unity (GLU) coalition of changing council programmes and refusing to answer written questions. The EFF disrupted another council meeting in Tshwane calling for the reinstatement of dismissed workers.

In Ethekwini, council meetings were not held because the mayor and speaker were overseas on business. The metro was under a Section 154 intervention from Cogta. In Mangaung the acting mayor appointed more MMCs than he was allowed to do by law. The metro also missed the deadline for submitting its quarterly financials.

Governance and transparency has been on a steady decline since November 2021 but parties and coalitions have become even more brazen by flouting the law, missing deadlines, and treating accountability mechanisms with disdain.

Labour disputes increase as strike season heats up

The Tshwane council and Samwu could not agree on a salary increase which led to violence from protesting workers. The metro announced its intention to dismiss the striking workers. Meanwhile, security workers protested at the Ekurhuleni council offices over the metro’s refusal to pay outstanding wages.

In Buffalo City, mayor Princess Faku warned managers that they would need to finalise labour issues with unions or face consequences. The metro incurred over R114-million in overtime payments in the 2022/23 financial year.

Service delivery failures stack up

Tshwane was unable to fix a large water leak as it lacked the materials. The leak had been a concern since February. Ekurhuleni had the worst emergency response rate of any Gauteng municipality, with just 46% of emergency calls answered within 30 minutes.

Rubbish collection in Khayelitsha stalled as the City of Cape Town failed to sign off on waste collection contracts. The Ethekwini council met with ratepayers to try and end the rate boycott that started after the 2022/24 tariff increases.

In Nelson Mandela Bay, angry residents complained about the metro’s inability to bill accurately for water, while businesses struggled under a number of unplanned power outages. There had been 42 unplanned outages in the first eight months of 2023.