Durban - THE national Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) portfolio committee has called on eThekwini Municipality to improve its public consultation strategies and deal with issues raised by residents.
This follows a petition by ward 52 community members through the EFF to the committee on matters pertaining to fraud in distributing Covid-19 relief food parcels and vouchers in the municipality, among other issues.
The petition contained a list of 14 matters that include housing, roads, drainage, distribution of food parcels and vouchers, the need for a satellite primary health facility and police station facilities, allegations that only ANC members become sub-contractors in community projects, and the alleged rude behaviour of certain ward councillors.
Ward 52 comprises Bhambayi, Emamba, Emaoti and Brooksfarm areas.
Yesterday, Cogta portfolio chairperson Faith Muthambi said the committee would convene in two weeks’ time and deliberate on the petition.
She said eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda and his team recently made a presentation that covered all matters in the petition.
“Although the committee welcomed the report of the municipality on the matters, it urged the municipality to always keep communities under its jurisdiction informed about its work, especially special service delivery projects as sometimes discontent and protests arise from the lack of public consultation and information, in particular. Mayor Kaunda attributed the dissatisfaction on food parcels and vouchers to the fact that the municipality didn’t receive the number of food parcels in proportion to its populace,” she said.
During a recent virtual meeting, Muthambi urged Kaunda to share the municipality’s turnaround strategy with the committee, as it was listed by the department as among dysfunctional municipalities.
“The assurance one wants from you is that there are no other reports of misconduct that you have received thus far in relation to councillors misbehaving. The problem is when these vouchers don’t reach their intended beneficiaries,” Muthambi said.
“What is the mechanism and measures you have put in place to make sure whatever is distributed in terms of the Covid-19 relief is reaching the intended beneficiaries? You (eThekwini) were listed as one of the dysfunctional municipalities and our interest is to get feedback from you, since you have been given this responsibility to turn the municipality around,” she said.
Muthambi said the committee expected Kaunda to address them on the City’s turnaround strategy by around September. The committee, after deliberations, would take its recommendations to Parliament and once adopted would follow up until all matters raised were resolved. Kaunda said the challenge they faced was that the municipality could only afford 1 000 food parcels or vouchers per ward, and many people were therefore left out of the process.
He said anyone manipulating the distribution process would be charged, and that all issues raised in the petition would receive the necessary attention.
The EFF in eThekwini alleged that people with ANC affiliations got job opportunities in community projects, received preference in subcontracting for projects, and services were rendered on party political lines.
eThekwini party leader Qalukwenza Hlengwa said they had raised these issues with the City in May.
“Among other things, the procurement system in the City is not transparent. This, among other issues, prompted us to approach the portfolio committee for its intervention. We will consult with them (the committee) as we expect Cogta to investigate and take action,” Hlengwa said yesterday.
Daily News