By Sihle Mavuso
Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has summoned the eThekwini Municipality to appear before it on 11 August after finding its previous responses to questions on governance, finances and service delivery to be inadequate.
In a letter dated 28 July 2026, committee chairperson Dr Zweli Mkhize instructed the municipality to provide detailed responses to 12 outstanding issues following its appearance before the committee in May.
The letter was addressed to eThekwini mayor, Cyril Xaba, and copied to KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) MEC Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi.
Mkhize said the previous engagement, which was held jointly with Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), was marked by “vague, unclear and evasive” responses from municipal officials.
“The joint committees of the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) acknowledge receipt of the response submitted by eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality to the questions previously forwarded by the Committee,” the letter states.
“Having considered the response, the Committees are of the view that it was vague, unclear and evasive, and did not adequately respond to the specific questions posed. The Committees have therefore scheduled a meeting with eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality for Tuesday, 11 August 2026, from 09:00 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 22:00, to discuss the revised responses and related matters.”
Among the issues requiring clarification are allegations that municipal employees were charged or dismissed without being given an opportunity to respond to allegations against them, as well as the distribution of Christmas vouchers to councillors.
The committee also wants the municipality to explain what disciplinary or management consequences follow when courts rule that employees were unfairly dismissed.
Members are further seeking answers on the Constitutional Court judgment involving Pholobas Projects and the municipality’s continued non-payment of Bless Joe Trading CC despite the court’s directive.
The committee has also requested an update on housing for victims of the 2022 KwaZulu-Natal floods, asking why many remain without permanent homes nearly five years after the disaster.
It is also demanding information on allegations that some service providers were paid despite failing to build houses or submitting fraudulent claims involving so-called ghost beneficiaries.
Service delivery issues also feature prominently on the agenda.
The municipality has been asked to outline plans and timelines to address its ageing water infrastructure, which has left several communities without reliable water supply, and explain how it is ensuring the fair and non-political allocation of water tankers.
The committee is also seeking details on the municipality’s strategy to improve road maintenance, particularly in township areas where potholes remain widespread, and wants clarity on responsibility for refuse collection and the companies contracted to provide the service.
Neither eThekwini Municipality nor the portfolio committee had commented by the time of publication.
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