As a recognized stakeholder for the south of KwaDukuza, DOCRRA was again invited to participate in the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) proceedings following our written submissions and questions on the ‘23/’24 annual report.
DOCRRA also represented the KwaDukuza Organised Residents Alliance (KORA) in this process. MPAC is a unique forum where municipal officials must respond in writing to questions posed by stakeholders and Councillors, followed by a workshop-style in-person forum where those answers can be further interrogated.
MPAC is attended by the Auditor General, executive directors from various business units, members of the municipal executive committee, and community stakeholders. The final report from MPAC is submitted to Council prior to their adoption of the annual report and the contents are made public. The questions and comments from DOCRRA are available here, beginning on page 28.
The MPAC report, and the sittings of the committee, also form an important historical record of the issues we have repeatedly raised with the municipality and any commitments they make to dealing with those issues. It is also sent to both provincial and national treasury as a means of tracking performance over time.
DOCRRA placed focus on these key areas:
The trend of escalating electricity losses continues and remains significantly higher than the national norm. We reiterated our calls for effective mitigation measures and consequence management for those who are responsible. A request was also made for a comprehensive report from the electricity business unit on each of the mitigation measures that are being undertaken and their progress/efficacy thus far. ED Jali committed to providing this report in the short term and we are following up on it. We made it clear that ratepayers subsidizing these losses from our own pockets.
Both DOCRRA and some of the Councillors raised the issues surrounding maintenance of our infrastructure, particularly our electrical infrastructure and roads. We also echoed the sentiments of the Auditor General regarding grant monies being allocated to this area, rather than operational expenditure. Our unanswered PAIA request for the electrical business unit maintenance plan was also highlighted, and Pam Govender, Head of Legal, committed to providing this information.
In addition to the electricity losses, concerns on billing for other services, such as refuse removal were also discussed. Many households and businesses are receiving a service for which they are not being billed due to a lack of ERF numbers and inability to identify them as consumers. We stressed the need for collaboration between the finance and community services business units to solve this problem and make sure that revenue is collected from everyone who receives a service.
MPAC chairperson, Thulile Mkhize, upon presentation of the report to Council, criticised supply chain management procedures for the use of unreliable contractors on a repeated basis and said that consequence management for those responsible needed to be implemented.
We want to thank chairperson Mkhize, as well as Judy Sewdular and the other MPAC facilitators for providing a warm welcome to DOCRRA and KORA and for facilitating open and thorough dialogue on important issues for the community.
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