By Simon Nare
Jeff Radebe, ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial task team (PTT) convenor, has pledged to take strong action against municipal councillors whom he described as incompetent in handling billions of rands allocated to municipalities for the benefit of local communities.
The ANC veteran is part of a task team mandated by the national executive committee (NEC) to address the state of municipalities and oversee officials deployed in both municipalities and provincial government.
Speaking at a press conference following the task team’s inaugural meeting, Radebe said that no one would be immune from scrutiny.
The task team’s primary goal is to ensure effective functioning of municipalities ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections.
“We must work closely to turn around the major municipalities in our province especially those were playing a major role such as eThekwini metro. We have already studied a report about all municipalities in KZN. Thus far, we have found out that 40 out of 54 municipalities in KZN have been described by National Treasury as municipalities facing serious financial problems,” Radebe told reporters on Wednesday.
Radebe said that in the 2023/2024 financial year, eight major municipalities in the province failed to utilize R7.5 billion from their adjusted budgets, with R2.6 billion earmarked for capital works left unspent.
He said that the task team would rigorously hold accountable those deployed in these institutions, urging underperforming officials to step aside for more competent replacements.
“What does this mean? It means that our people here in KZN are deprived by useless councilors of not spending budgets that have been appropriated in law, dealing a major blow to service delivery. That will come to an end under our leadership here,” said Radebe.
ANC KZN provincial coordinator Mike Mabuyakhulu added that the task team would initiate a comprehensive assessment program to identify municipal functions and challenges, intervening as and when needed.
“Some challenges faced by municipalities are external, beyond their control, while others stem from internal factors,” Mabuyakhulu said.
“We have set a timeline to convene a summit where all municipalities will evaluate their performance under our governance.”
Similarly, he indicated that the ANC would address issues raised by residents in municipalities where it is in opposition.
“We will hold everyone accountable. We are in control,” Mabuyakhulu said.
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