In June 2023, in terms of section 154 of the constitution, the department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs appointed Drs Sutcliffe and Lubisi to intervene in the chronic shortcomings of eThekwini municipality. Astonishingly, after a year they have yet to identify the elephant in the room.
Since the establishment of eThekwini municipality, its staffing component has verified the accuracy of Parkinson’s law: bureaucracy begets bureaucracy. Whereas 20 years ago eThekwini employed about 12,000, that figure has now bloated to 28,000 without any improvement in service delivery and at an unaffordable cost. The reason is the elephant in the room: cadre deployment which is eThekwini’s cancer.
In his State Capture Report, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo called for the abolition of cadre deployment because “it created conditions and conduct that enable state capture and systemic corruption” (Sunday Tribune, July 10, 2022). eThekwini has been captured by the ANC and its adherents. That reality accounts for the steady decline in the municipality’s ability to provide proper service, to maintain its infrastructure and to minimise debt.
Instead the debt is now an unprecedented R32 billion up from R17 billion owed in March 2022. If officials were fit for the purpose of their employment and if ratepayer interests were the sole priority the following random examples of wasteful expenses and corruption would not have occurred:
- R22 million on statues of Mandela and Tambo;
- R27 million on guards for councillors;
- R807 million described by the Mpac committee as “unauthorised, irregular, wasteful, fruitless expenditure” and R2,3 billion written off (The Mercury, September 14, 2023);
- The patronage network involving former mayor Zandile Gumede which allegedly manipulated a R320 million solid waste contract for comrades;
- R32 million allocated for housing but unaccounted for (October 13, 2023);
- property transactions held up for months because of inordinate delays in the issuing of rates clearances;
- Trenance Park residents without water for 100 days.
To take eThekwini off life support, one of two procedures is required: Either a rigorous audit of staffing needs applied by totally independent, apolitical, business-minded people. Or, the dismantling of the Metro to re-establish smaller municipal entities which proved affordable and capable in the past.
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