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The Democratic Alliance in uMgungundlovu District Municipality is outraged by the expenditure of R470, 000 on the inauguration of councillors in November 2021. This was recently revealed in a report of orders to the finance committee.

This expense is outrageous considering that the event could have been held at the City Hall and with catering being cut, could have been successfully accomplished with zero costs. This on the back of the proposed 8% increment in expenses.

The municipality talks about cost containment measures, but at the same time, happily spends half a million rand on a frivolous and showy event which contributes nothing to residents.  How does this huge expense help or serve residents of uMgungundlovu municipality?  This amount could have significantly contributed to plumbing shares or water meters.   Some residents have been asking for their faulty meters to be replaced for longer than two years.  The district has also been unable to do the necessary work to supply bulk water to new housing projects, which halts these projects for the local municipalities.

This waste of municipal funds is in stark contrast to the uMngeni municipality that is hosting a three day strategic planning workshop for officials and councillors, and have managed to cut costs from R400, 000 to R50, 000.

UMgungundlovu district municipality has an unfunded budget, meaning that it spends more than it makes, and has R1.2 billion outstanding in unpaid debts, and 57% non-revenue water.  That is water that is purchased as bulk water, but not billed, and is rather wasted or stolen.

This municipality is grossly mismanaged both operationally and financially.  The Howick West pipes desperately need to be replaced, as they are bursting almost every other day.  The DA has long called for uMgungundlovu to be placed under administration, to address these major problems, before it impacts even further on the delivery of water to the six municipalities that are supplied water by the district.

It is disappointing that the municipality would rather spend monies on flashy events rather than the much-needed service delivery

Issued by DA uMgungundlovu Caucus Leader, Councillor Hazel Lake