Questions and Replies

Reply:

Attached reply for Metroplitan find here: Reply

Reply:

According to the information received from the Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality, the municipal council did not approve the appointment of Mr Simphiwe Duma. Therefore, there are no steps to be taken by the Minister.

Reply:

1. In terms of section 81 of the National Credit Act, 2005 (Act 34 of 2005) when applying for a credit agreement, and while that application is being considered by the credit provider, the prospective consumer must fully and truthfully answer any requests for information made by the credit provider as part of the assessment required by this section.

A credit provider must not enter into credit agreement without first taking reasonable steps to assess:

  (a) the proposed consumer’s –

      (i) general understanding and appreciation of the risks and costs of the proposed credit, and of the rights and obligations of a consumer under a credit agreement;

      (ii) debt re-payment history as a consumer under credit agreements;

       (iii) existing financial means, prospects and obligations; and

 (b) whether there is reasonable basis to conclude that any commercial purpose may prove to be successful, if the consumer has such a purpose for applying for that credit agreement.

Based on the above information, credit agreement can be entered between the consumer and credit provider and therefore municipal managers do not have a role to play on the loan agreement entered into by municipal officials.

Reply:

The following information was provided by the Provincial Department:

Gauteng province is comprised of 12 municipalities which include: 3 Metropolitan, 2 District and 7 Local.

Total number of petitions received and resolved for each city council in each petition committee of the 3 Metropolitan and 7 local authorities since the start of the present term of councils in 2011 is illustrated in the table below:

Name of Municipality	Number of petitions received	Number of petitions resolved
City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality	1364	344
City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality	557	553
City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality	963	862
Enfuleni Local Municipality	331	96
Lesedi Local Municipality	7	6
Merafong Local Municipality	17	14
Midvaal Local Municipality	135	131
Mogale City Local Municipality	143	140
Randfontein Local Municipality	76	69
Westonaria Local Municipality	17	16
TOTAL	3610	2231

 

Reply:

(1) (a) The TMPD has one (1) Regional Office in Region 1. Region 1 is divided into two (2) sub-regions namely Region 1 Sector 1 and Region 1 Sector 2. The abovementioned wards are serviced by Region 1 Sector 1.

(b) Region 1 Sector 1 (the wards as depicted above) is serviced by:

(i) 123 Metro Police Officers

(ii} 16 Metro Police Vehicles

• 6 Operational

• 10 Non-operational (in for service/repairs)

(2) Currently Region 1 consists of one (1) TMPD regiona l office (station). Region 1 Sector 1 is situated in Unit U, Mabopane. This station services Mabopane, Winterveld and parts of Soshanguve.

Region 1 Sector 1 was fully established during the 2012/13 financial year. The community of Mabopane was also consulted before the establishment of the said Metro Police Regional Office. Currently, no official plans exist for future expansion of Metro Police Offices within the Region 1 Sector 1. However, the Department has plans for the establishment of a fully-fledged Metro Police Regional Office within Region 1 Sector 2 (Garankuwa, Pretoria North, Akasia and Rosslyn areas} .

Reply:

The information below has been supplied by uMngeni Local Municipality:

(1) (a) R 54 281 400.00
(b) R 45,350,886.20 (inclusive of VAT).
(c) Funding is being sourced from all sectors including private sector through the Corporate Social Investment. LOTIO is also being mobilised to assist. So far, nothing has been forthcoming so we need to intensify and be more aggressive in marketing the facility

(2) The total square meterage of the buildings is 1601 square metres (m2

Reply:

(a) Department of Cooperative Governance (DCoG)- and Department of Traditional Affairs (OTA

The Department of Co-operative Governance and Department of Traditional Affairs do not have any developmental budgeted programmes on small businesses and co-operatives. However, DCoG and National House of Traditional Leaders (NHTL) do work together with the Department of Small Business Development and the Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries in areas of interest within the municipal space.

DCoG approach towards the development of co-operatives focuses on capacitating municipalities, facilitating and coordinating support by national sector departments. Through a partnership with the German Co-operative Raiffeisen Confederation (DGRV), DCoG provides municipalities with training skills for implementing co-operative programmes. LED officials from 188 municipalities were trained on Cooperatives Establishment and Management, between 2012/2013 to 2015/2016 financial years. The training covered KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and North West Provinces.

DCoG and NHTL do not have the number of jobs created through these development programmes. The database on the number of jobs created is administered the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Department of Trade and Industry.

(b) Associated Institutions of CoGTA: South African Local Government Association (SALGA), South African Cities Netwrok (SACN), Municipal Demarcation Board (MOB), Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL) Rights Commission and National House of Traditional Leaders.

The associated institutions of CoGTA namely SALGA, SACN, MOB and CRL are not running formal developmental programmes for small businesses and cooperatives for the 2016/17 becuase it falls outside their mandate. However, NHTL strategic objective is the development and promotion of socio-economic development programmes for traditional communities. Therefore. members of the House must participate in programs relating to the improvement of food security and revival of cooperatives in rural communities. Thus, in promoting those socio-economic programmes, traditional leaders have been allocating land for development projects, small scale farming in order to assist SMMEs and Cooperatives. for example, the NHTL has played a very instrumental role in engaging the Bakwena Ba Mogopa Traditional Council to allocate land to the community and cooperatives for agricultural projects and also ensuring that the local mines assists the agricultural cooperatives with seedlings and gardening equipment.

Reply:

Upon receipt of this question, we requested the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality to provide information on this matter and are still awaiting. We will therefore submit to the Honourable Member as soon as the information becomes available.

Reply:

Upon receipt of this question, we requested the uMngeni Local Municipality to provide information on this matter and are still awaiting. We will therefore submit to the Honourable Member as soon as the information becomes available.

Reply:

Upon receipt of this question, we requested the Provincial Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to provide information on this matter and are still awaiting. We will therefore submit to the Honourable Member as soon as the information becomes available.

Reply:

Upon receipt of this question, we requested the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality to provide information on this matter and are still awaiting. We will therefore submit to the Honourable Member as soon as the information becomes available.

Reply:

Upon receipt of this question, we requested the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality to provide information on this matter and are still awaiting. We will therefore submit to the Honourable Member as soon as the information becomes available.

Reply:

Information from Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga is outstanding and provinces were requested to submit the information. The information will be made available to the Honourable Member once available.

According to information received from the Provincial departments responsible for local government the following municipalities paid, the annual gross salaries, performances bonuses and perks and/or benefits to senior staff members during the year 2014/15 financial year .

Find here: Metropolitan Municipalities

Reply:

With reference to the question of 21 December 2015 a request was made to all Metropolitan Municipalities to provide the relevant information as per the question. Most Metropolitan Municipalities responded to the request and those outstanding committed to provide the information when it is available.

The original question 4259 was and the following Metropolitan Municipalities replied:

(1) What amount of capital budget of each metropolitan municipality was spent on refurbishing infrastructure in the (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15 financial years;

(2) (a) what are the details of each project and (b) how much was spent on each project;

(3) whether any capital funds were used to pay salaries; if so, (a) why and (b) how much?

The information was provided by the respective Metropolitan Municipality:

NAME OF METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY	(1)	(2)	(3)
	(a) 2013-14	(b) 2014-15	(a) (what are the details of each project)	(b) (how much was spent on each project)	(a) (any capital funds used to pay salaries, why)	(b) (any capital funds used to pay salaries, how much)
Buffalo City	R13.3m	R36.7m	Refurbishing water infrastructure: the budget was spent on pipe replacement and water meter replacement programmes	R13.3m and R36.7m respectively	No capital funds were used to pay salaries
Nelson Mandela Bay
City of Tshwane	R24m	R18m	Schedule attached	Schedule attached	No capital funds were used to pay salaries
City of Joburg	R99 770m	R166 400m	Schedule attached	Schedule attached	No capital funds were used to pay salaries
Ekurhuleni	R963 719 157	R899 975 194	Schedule attached	Schedule attached	Yes, to reimburse employees cost of project managers directly involved in the capital projects as per GRAP standard	In 2013/14 financial year, a total amount of R33,403,241.00 was paid out for salaries of project managers; and In 2014/15 financial year, a total amount of R69, 186,120.00 was paid out for salaries of project managers.
Mangaung	R257 348 123	R353 300 397	Schedule attached	Schedule attached	No capital funds were used to pay salaries
City of Cape Town	R229 949 091	R208 541 123	Schedule attached	Schedule attached	No capital funds were used to pay salaries
eThekweni	R1.199m	R1.287m	Schedule attached	Schedule attached	No capital funds were used to pay salaries

ANNEXURE A

CITY OF TSHWANE

1. In the City of Tshwane the following amounts were allocated:

• 1. In 2013/14 financial year, the total amount of R24 Million was allocated for refurbishment; and
  2. In 2014/16financial year, the total amount of R18 Million was allocated for refurbishment

1. (a) what are the details of each project and (b) how much was spent on each project;

FINANCIAL YEAR
2013/14.	132 KV network infrastructure for the primary substation.	R15 million.
	Rooiwal power station.	R9 million.
2014/15.	132 KV network infrastructure for the primary substation.	R10 million.
	Rooiwal power station.	R8 million.

1. All capital funds were never used for salaries.
   1. Not applicable.
   2. Not applicable.

CITY OF JOHANNESBURG

1. In the City of Tshwane the following amounts were allocated:

          (a) In 2013-14 financial year, the total amounted of R99 770 million was allocated.

          (b) In 2014-15 financial year, the total amount of R166 400 million was allocated.

2.Please refer attached Annexure A, for the list of projects.

3. All capital funds were never used for salaries.

     (a) Not applicable.

     (b) Not applicable.

EKURHULENI METRO MUNICIPALITY

1. In Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality the following amounts were allocated:

   (a) In 2013-14 financial year, the total amounted of R963, 719,157.00 was allocated.

    (b) In 2014-15 financial year, the total amount of R899, 975,194.00 was allocated.

2. Please refer attached Annexure B, for the list of projects.

3. Yes, capital funds were used to pay salaries.

     (a) To reimburse employees cost of project managers directly involved in the capital projects as per GRAP standard.

      (b) In 2013/14 financial year, a total amount of R33,403,241.00 was paid out for salaries of project managers; and

In 2014/14 financial year, a total amount of R69, 186,120.00 was paid out for salaries of project managers.

MANGAUNG METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY

1. a. R 257 348 123.30

   b. R 353 300 397.35

2. a. 2013/14

Projects	Amount
REPLACEMENT OF OBSOLETE AND ILLEGAL SIGN	1 048 695.00
RESEALING OF STREETS	62 262 452.02
RESEALING OF STREETS	6 188 589.89
	68 451 041.91
REFURBISHMENT OF SEWER SYSTEMS	11 811 479.10
REFURBISHMENT OF SEWER SYSTEM	13 035 016.49
	24 846 495.59
REFURBISHMENT OF WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS	31 995 893.97
REFURBISHMENT OF WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS	20 642 497.61
REFURBISHMENT OF WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS: R	7 697 928.72
REFURBISHMENT OF WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS: T	5 000 000.00
REPLACE PUMPS MASELSPOORT	26 644 402.88
REPLACE WATER METERS AND FIRE HYDRANTS	28 520 434.98
REPLACE WATER METERS AND FIRE HYDRANTS	18 704 897.64
	139 206 055.80
COMPUTER REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT	1 791 728.10
REPLACEMENT LAPTOPS FOR TECNICIANS (12)	104 481.00
REPLACEMENT OF 240 MM XLPE BETWEEN SUB A	13 183 628.49
REPLACEMENT OF 2 & 4 WAY FIBREGLASS BOX	197 293.20
REPLACEMENT OF BRITTLE OVERHEAD CONNECTI	349 490.40
REPLACEMENT OF LOW VOLTAGE DECREPIT 2 4	1 149 234.40
REPLACEMENT OF DECREPIT HAMILTON SUBSTAT	1 444 567.80
REPLACEMENT OF 11KV SWITCHGEARS FOR MAGI	1 303 171.26
NETWORK REFURBISHMENT	5 059 245.35
UPGRADE AND REFURBISHMENT OF CENTLEC COM	261 690.00
	24 844 530.00
	257 348 123.30

b. 2014/15

Projects	Amount
RESEALING OF STREETS	9 644 600.99
RESEALING OF STREETS	56 705 381.94
RESEALING OF STREETS	315 228.00
RESEALING OF STREETS	157 445.00
REPLACEMENT OF OBSOLETE AND ILLEGAL SIGN	4 799 899.44
REPLACEMENT OF OBSOLETE AND ILLEGAL SIGN	56 305.00
	71 678 860.37
REFURBISHMENT OF OLD TOILETS	2 675 439.00
REFURBISHMENT OF SEWER SYSTEMS	28 771 174.45
REFURBISHMENT OF BLOEMSPRUIT WWTW	19 253 625.53
REFURBISHMENT OF SEWER SYSTEMS	8 618 373.09
REFURBISHMENT OF BLOEMSPRUIT WWTW	18 023 394.03
REFURBISHMENT OF BLOEMSPRUIT WWTW	-
REFURBISHMENT OF SEWER SYSTEM	25 761 468.53
REFURBISHMENT OF SEWER SYSTEMS	397 465.70
	103 500 940.33
REFURBISHMENT OF WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS	-
REFURBISHMENT OF WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS	49 887 101.69
REFURBISHMENT OF WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS	1 367 285.00
REFURBISHMENT OF WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS RE	3 782 296.88
REFURBISHMENT OF WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS AU	19 781 572.21
REFURBISHMENT OF WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS	14 963 976.94
REFURBISHMENT OF WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS TE	4 678 798.55
REPLACEMENT/REFURBISHMENT OF VALVES IN B	3 295 819.10
REPLACEMENT/REFURBISHMENT OF WATERMAINS	23 528 182.73
REFURBISHMENT OF WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS	12 973 895.00
REFURBISHMENT OF WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS: R	2 302 071.00
REPLACEMENT OF WATER PIPES NOORDHOEK	3 999 999.88
	140 560 998.98
TRANSFORMER REPLACEMENT	3 408 929.33
REPLACEMENT OF DECREPIT 11KV CABLE	1 045 476.29
REPLACEMENT OF 240 MM XLPE BETWEEN SUB A	5 845 657.41
REPLACEMENT OF 2 & 4 WAY FIBREGLASS BOX	273 499.88
REPLACEMENT OF BRITTLE OVERHEAD CONNECTI	738 133.88
REPLACEMENT OF LOW VOLTAGE DECREPIT 248	396 829.65
REPLACEMENT OF OIL PLANT	902 734.00
REPLACEMENT OF DECREPIT HAMILTON SUBSTAT	902 866.38
REPLACEMENT OF 110V BATTERIES FOR EAST Y	435 745.00
REPLACEMENT OF 11KV SWITCHGEARS FOR MAGI	575 275.88
REPLACEMENT OF 32V BATTERIES	365 360.46
NETWORK REFURBISHMENT	21 262 346.46
UPGRADE AND REFURBISHMENT OF CENTLEC COM	1 406 743.05
	37 559 597.67
	353 300 397.35

3. No Capital Funds were used to pay salaries.

Reply:

With reference to the question of 21 December 2015 a request was made to all Metropolitan Municipalities to provide the relevant information as per the question. Most Metropolitan Municipalities responded to the request and those outstanding committed to provide the information when it is available.

The original question 4256 was and the following Metropolitan Municipalities replied:

Whether each metropolitan municipality has taken any steps to enable citizens to become physically fit by (a) providing outdoor gym equipment, (b) initiating fitness programmes and/or (c) any other initiatives; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details in each case?

The information was provided by the respective Metropolitan Municipality:

NAME OF METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY	(a)	(b)	(c)
Buffalo City	n/a	n/a	n/a
Nelson Mandela Bay	In the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality we have installed Outdoor Equipment on the Beachfront as part of the Beach Development Upgrade by the Mandela Development Agency. The city is benefitting from the project by Sport and Recreation South Africa to deliver Outdoor Gym Equipment in certain municipalities. Outdoor Gym Equipment has been delivered in Motherwell and 2 more will be constructed in Zwide and Kwanobuhle in 2016. A MoU has been signed with the Minister of Sport’s Office for the delivery of the outdoor gyms.	The Sport and Recreation Directorate in partnership with a sport NGO, United Through Sport, has arranged the following programmes to promote active and healthy lifestyles: Community Walks in Colchester, Helenvale, New Brighton, Walmer and Mqolomba Park in Kwanobuhle; School holiday programmes with young people took place during the July school break at the following venues: Lilian Ngoyi Sport Centre, George Botha Sport Centre, Rosedale and Motherwell. Activities on stage included: Skipping challenge for participants aged 40+ Hoola-Hoop challenge for participants aged 40+ Soccer Ball tapping challenge for participants aged 10- Soccer Ball heading challenge for participants aged 10- Push-ups ladies challenge Spot prizes for youngest and oldest participants	The Sport and Recreation Directorate has entered into a 3 year partnership agreement with EP Athletics to deliver a number of road races as part of the Nelson Mandela Legacy Project. The races are as follow: 27/30 km Human Rights Run in commemoration of the Uitenhage Langa Massacre; Freedom Run 10/5 km in Motherwell; DIVA Run 10 km race for women only, in celebration of Women’s Month; Gelvandale Run 15 km; SA Half Marathon (2016/17) July month in celebration of Mandela Month – this event is sanctioned by Athletics South Africa and has been given Championship Status; The Directorate has approved a budget of R1,380 000 for the implementation of this project. The Sport and Recreation Directorate has entered into a 3 year Partnership with Iconage Holdings/Move-it, moving matters to implement its Get Ahead Sports Programme / GASP in 5 Primary Schools in Gelvandale / Helenvale. The programme is promoting Physical Education and Sport Development in three sporting codes, e.g. Football, Cricket and Tennis. The budget approved for this project is R400 000. The programme does not only focus on developing skills in these sport disciplines, but on life skills and improving their cognitive development.
City of Tshwane	Yes, The City of Tshwane has taken steps to enable the citizens to become physically fit by providing outdoor gym equipment in 4 of its 7 Regions. These gyms are installed through the City’s 2-Parks-Per-Ward Programme. The outdoor gyms have also been possible through the City’s partnership with the National Department of Sports, enabling 2 outdoor gyms in the City’s Regions to be installed, with one of the outdoor gyms being officially introduced by the Minister. Plans are afoot to install another outdoor gym in Region 7 (Ekangala), which should be completed late in the calendar year or early next year.	Yes, The City of Tshwane hosts events in partnership with the National and Provincial Departments of Sports to galvanize the public to keep fit and lead a healthy life style.	In the current financial year, the program is being rolled out across all the City’s Regions with events being hosted quarterly. Going forward, the City hopes to host such events more frequently in all the parks and/or open spaces easily accessible to the public.
City of Joburg	The City of Johannesburg has been providing outdoor gym equipment since 2011/12 financial year.	The City has initiated 20 more fitness programmes since 2011/12 financial year.	The installation of green gyms is aligned to yearly capex allocation and is budget for. The City strikes a balance between greening, pathways, gym equipment etc. when designing a park with the allocated budget yearly.
Ekurhuleni	The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality has allocated an amount of R8 million for the installation of outdoor gym equipment to 60 public parks and open spaces in the current financial year (2015/16). This also includes gym equipment for disabled persons to selected parks.	The installation of the gym equipment will commence after the December recess (starting 15 January 2016) and will be completed by end of April 2016.	We also have an Aerobics programme running in 8 facilities throughout the metro, every Saturday morning. To date we have had 132 sessions were on average we have 100 participants per session.
Mangaung	The Municipality has established a Regional Park in Thaba Nchu which includes outdoor gym equipment.	Furthermore, a Memorandum of Understanding has been concluded between the Municipality and SARSA – Sports and Recreation South Africa in terms of which the National Department will provide outdoor gym equipment to a park in Botshabelo. This agreement will unfold and be implemented early in 2016. All the Parks that the Municipality develops are multi facility parks which includes infrastructure such as netball courts, basketball courts, chess playing facilities, morabaraba facilities, skate board facilities, tennis courts and/or 5-a-side soccer fields.	The Municipality is also in the process of appointing a service provider to supply and install outdoor gym equipment to the Municipality for a period of 3 years. Prominent parks and facilities within the Municipality will then be provided with this equipment which will ultimately contribute to a more healthy community.
City of Cape Town
eThekweni	The Parks Department has undertaken and started to roll out Outdoor Gyms in many of the 103 wards throughout the City. The Department sees fitness and wellness as an important component of all citizens’ wellbeing R1.199 million	The department has undertaken to erect 1 outdoor gym in each ward.R1.287 million	The City is planning to rollout 10 new sites per year.

Reply:

Yes, the Department received the outstanding information from the metropolitan municipalities. These are reflected below.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 2015/ 440

Hon BH Bhanga (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

1. For each metropolitan municipality, ( a ) what are the details of each forensic investigation that has been commissioned since 1 June 2011 and ( b ) what were the reasons for the commissioning of each investigation;
2. Whether he can indicate if each forensic investigation is ( a ) complete or (b ) still ongoing;
3. ( a ) has the report of each completed investigation been made public; if not, ( a ) why not and ( b ) when will the specified reports be made public; if so, ( i ) when was each report released and ( ii ) was each report tabled in Parliament;
4. for each incomplete investigation, when will it be completed;
5. What action has been undertaken by the Government in terms of the recommendations made in each forensic report?

It is important to highlight that most of the forensic reports were commissioned by metropolitan municipalities as a way of intensifying the fight against corruption and related offences in local government. The information below was received from the eight (8) metropolitan municipalities:

(1) The table below illustrates the response as per municipality:

Metropolitan Municipality	Response to 1 (a)	Response to 1 (b)
Buffalo City	Two (2) forensic investigations have been commissioned since 1 June 2011.	The investigations were prompted by allegations of tender irregularities regarding the awarding of two tenders.
City of Johannesburg	A total of 127 forensic investigations have been commissioned since 1 June 2011.	The investigations were initiated as a result of allegations of fraud, corruption, theft and other irregularities reported through the fraud hotline wherein members of the public and staff members are encouraged to report.
City of Tshwane	A total of 1056 forensic cases were registered between 2011 and 2015 financial years.	The City of Tshwane receives various verbal and/or written allegations of crimes/offences from a number of sources. The reporting tools include KPMG hotline, anonymous informants, management requests, provincial anti-corruption hotline, Office of the Public Protector, and the Presidential hotline.
Ekurhuleni	A total of 215 forensic investigations have been commissioned by the Municipality.	Forensic cases are investigated following allegations of possible fraud and corruption received through the municipality’s fraud hotline, the provincial and national hotlines, and allegations raised by management and the public.
eThekwini	1 (one) forensic investigation has been commissioned. The MEC for CoGTA KZN commissioned an investigation into allegations of maladministration, fraud and corruption alleged to have occurred at the municipality.	The MEC for CoGTA in KZN had reason to believe that maladministration, fraud and corruption had occurred at eThekwini Metro, which lead to the investigation being commissioned.
Nelson Mandela Bay	A total of 96 alleged fraud and corruption cases were received by the municipality, since 1 June 2011. The cases varied in complexity and magnitude.	The allegations reported related to fraud and corruption (which by nature could be criminal) and alleged mismanagement of public funds.

(2) The table below illustrates the response as per municipality:

Metropolitan Municipality	Response to (a)	Response to (b)
Buffalo City	Council took a resolution in 2014 to rescind its original resolution to investigate the two contracts due to procedural defects in the taking of the decision. This affected the validity of the investigation by the service provider as well as its findings.	Council has authorised MPAC to conduct an investigation regarding the irregular expenditure for the procurement of services arising from the defects in the original resolution(s). The investigation by Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) on irregular expenditure is ongoing.
City of Johannesburg	A total of 127 forensic investigations were closed.	28 are still ongoing.
City of Tshwane	A total of 636 forensic cases were finalised.	420 are still in progress.
Ekurhuleni	A total of 215 forensic investigations were conducted.	Some of the investigations for 2014/15 are still on-going.
eThekwini	One forensic investigation was conducted and completed.	N/A
Nelson Mandela Bay	A total of 57 of the reported forensic cases had been investigated and completed, i.e. 20 reports were issued and 37 cases closed.	39 Outstanding.

(3) The table below illustrates the response as per municipality:

Metropolitan Municipality	Response 3 ( a ) ( b ) ( i ) ( ii )
Buffalo City	The investigations by MPAC were not completed as no report was tabled in Council, since Council took a decision to rescind its original resolution to investigate the aforesaid contracts due to procedural defects in the taking of the decision. As a result, the report was not tabled in Council and not made public.
City of Johannesburg	The outcomes of the investigations are communicated to senior management (including the City Manager) who will then implement appropriate actions. In addition, the outcomes of the investigations are also communicated to the Group Audit Committee, MPAC and the Auditor -General. The reports were not tabled in Parliament.
City of Tshwane	Reports are tabled at various Council structures.
Ekurhuleni	The investigation reports are released to all relevant parties following the finalisation of the investigations. This finalisation process is then followed by the process of implementing recommendations. Reports are also tabled before the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC), where necessary. The reports were not tabled in Parliament.
eThekwini	The forensic report was tabled in council and was made public in March 2014. The reports were not tabled Parliament.
Nelson Mandela Bay	Forensic reports are submitted by the NMBM’s Internal Audit Unit to the Accounting Officer and Legal Services. Reports are then tabled at various Council Structures i.e. Audit Committee meetings, Municipal Public Accounts Committee meetings and thereafter the resolutions of MPAC are tabled at Council meetings. The reports were not tabled in Parliament.

(4) & (5) The table below illustrates the response as per municipality:

Metropolitan Municipality	Response to (4)	Response to (5)
Buffalo City	For the reasons that Council rescinded its original resolution in 2014 to investigate the aforesaid contracts due to procedural defects, the investigation was therefore discontinued.	On this matter no action was taken arising from the investigation as Council rescinded its original decision.
City of Johannesburg	The completion time for investigations is difficult to predict due to the nature of each case under investigation. However, efforts are put in place to ensure timely completion.	The recommendations emanating from forensic reports are implemented through disciplinary processes, civil recovery, and criminal actions.
City of Tshwane	Same as above.	The recommendations emanating from forensic reports are implemented through disciplinary processes, civil recovery, and criminal actions. Disciplinary cases were finalised on 17 cases.
Ekurhuleni	Same as above.	The recommended actions have been taken by management and this includes improving the control environment as well as corrective measures instituted against the implicated officials.
eThekwini	Not applicable. The investigation at eThekwini Metro has been completed.	The recommendations emanating from the forensic report have been partially implemented. Further, some of the allegations are still being investigated by law enforcement agencies.
Nelson Mandela Bay	The completion time for investigations is difficult to predict due to the nature of each case under investigation. However, efforts are put in place to ensure timely completion. The NMBM has requested the Provincial Treasury to assist the NMBM with forensic matters in order to complete investigations.	Forensic reports are tabled at various Council Structures i.e. Audit Committee meetings, MPAC meetings, and thereafter the resolutions of MPAC are tabled at Council meetings. Action by the NMBM is implemented in accordance with these resolutions.

The City of Cape Town and Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality indicated that they are not in a position to accede to my request to release details regarding forensic investigations. The City of Cape Town indicated that releasing information relating to forensic investigations would compromise future investigations, and the implementation of recommendations contained in such reports.

Reply:

The following information was provided by uMgungundlovu District Municipality:

1.An amount of R6 million was diverted in 2013 and R4 million was diverted in 2015. There are two reasons for the diversion. (1) The Municipality could not implement the project as a result of the delay in the approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) (2) The Municipality entered into a strategic partnership with Umgeni Water in terms of which R84 million was secured for the same project. Furthermore, the Municipality has set aside an additional R4 million for the same project for the additional reticulation pipeline.

2. It is the Mkhambathini Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) in Camperdown. This project is championed by Umgeni Water from their approved CAPEX.

3. The Municipal Manager, in partnership with KZN Cogta Officials, informed by the virement procedures as espoused in the Municipal Finance Management Act, Act 56 of 2013.

4. At the Executive Committee meeting held on 08 September 2015.

5. It must be mentioned that the grant funding in question is part of the Corridor Development Fund for Local Economic Development projects and not part of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant. The Mandela Marathon is designed to promote local economic development goals and thus in line with the strategic objectives of the Corridor Development Fund. As such, no regulations relating to conditional grants were violated nor disregarded in this instance.                  

Reply:

The Department of Cooperative Governance, as part of the 828 approach, monthly requests municipalities to report on the number of households receiving (i) water, (ii) electricity, (iii) sanitation and (iv) solid waste management services, new connection made and the number of households receiving free basic water and free basic electricity. The numbers in the table below are the average number of households that monthly received the service for the period July 2015 to March 2016:
 

Metro	How many households received electricity?	How many households were connected for the first time to the electricity system?	How many households received sanitation?	How many households received water?	How many households were connected for the first time to the water system?	How many households received Free Basic Water	How many households received Free Basic Electricity?	How many households have access to refuse removal?
Buffalo City	125787	95	219797	221169	23	52909	78032	161431
City of Cape Town	567481	362	897965	897965	545	897965	369060	706205
City of Johannesburg	493939	145	266246	414231	103	27445	22580	1001550
City of Tshwane	411773	359	618739	775660	1220	314500	213000	823388
Ekurhuleni	390969	1142	902332	908293	88	460204	208835	695987
Ethekwini	689270	895	699258	818201	227	613674	124883	945910
Mangaung	187328	33	115179	172500	21	23367	29744	206650
Nelson Mandela Bay	273311	122	295177	325302	127	76396	64555	317760

Reply:

There are various municipal officials and councillors who undertook international trips in the 2014/15 financial year and since 01 July 2015 in each metropolitan municipality. The following responses are from 6 metros who responded. The Department will forward input from the 2 outstanding metros once the information is made available.

The purpose of each trip, officials who undertook each trip, and the total cost of each trip including flights and accommodation in each metropolitan municipality is outlined in the attached Annexure below:

Reply:

(a) The hydrants are inspected daily.
(b) According to the City of Ekurhuleni, maintenance of fire hydrants within its area of jurisdiction is a Service Delivery Budget Implementation Plan (SDBIP) issue and there is a comprehensive programme being implemented throughout the year. In terms of this comprehensive program, a target of 50 000 hydrants must be inspected annually, and this was exceeded as depicted in the table below.

(c) The City indicated that they have appointed a Professional Service Provider (PSP) who is responsible for the maintenance and servicing of fire hydrants. The PSP has 220 fieldworkers who are responsible for the maintenance and servicing of fire hydrants within the City. The business process that the City has adopted requires a fieldworker to locate (some hydrants are underground and some above ground) the hydrant, mark with paint, service or maintain, and geo- code the location of the hydrant on a Global Positioning System (GPS). This approach requires at least five visits to each hydrant. In view of this, the City has outlined that it is difficult and cumbersome for them to indicate the date of the last visit to each hydrant as a single visit is not enough to locate, mark with paint, maintain or service and geo-code the hydrant. According to the City, work areas are divided in line with the operational fire districts, which cover more than one fire station precinct. The following numbers of hydrants have been located, marked with paint, serviced/ maintained, tested and geo-coded per Service Delivery Area:
 

Service Delivery Areas	Name of the Fire Districts	Number of Hydrants Serviced	Financial year (FY) Period
Service Delivery Area 1	• Alberton /Thokoza • Palm Ridge • Sonkesizwe	12 473	2013/2014
		12 620	2014/2015
		11 332	2015/2016
Service Delivery Area 2	• Wadeville/Katlehong • Vosloorus	11 781	2013/2014
		2 305	2014/2015
		15 250	2015/2016
Service Delivery Area 3	• Boksburg Central • Germiston Central	8 912	2013/2014
		5 036	2014/2015
		10 556	2015/2016
Service Delivery Area 4	• Edenvale • Primrose • Bedford view	10 320	2013/2014
		5 777	2014/2015
		16 009	2015/2016
Service Delivery Area 5	• Kempton park • Tembisa • Commercial • Olifantsfontein	6 544	2013/2014
		18 921	2014/2015
		14 104	201512016
Service Delivery Area 6	• Leon Ferreira • Farrarmere • Rynfield	8 735	2013/2014
		6 897	2014/2015
		20 262	2015/2016
Service Delivery Area 7	• Brakpan • Benoni • Central Tsakane	8 292	2013/2014
		7 058	2014/2015
		16 516	2015/2016
Service Delivery Area 8	• Springs • Daveyton • Etwatwa	9 213	2013/2014
		1 442	2014/2015
		16 097	2015/2016
Service Delivery Area 9	• Nigel • Duduza • Selection Park	8 946	2013/2014
		10 000	2014/2015
		16 097	2015/2016

Reply:

1. The Honourable Member is requested to note that the Provincial Committee on Disputes and Claims of Traditional Leadership in Mpumalanga did conduct an investigation with respect to the claim for traditional leadership that was lodged by Mr. ME Sukazi and others. The investigation was closed following the findings by the Committee.
2. Yes, a report was generated but was not presented to the affected parties as they did not dispute the findings of the Committee. However, a letter dated 18 February 2015 from the Office of the Premier in Mpumalanga was forwarded to Mr. ME Sukazi and others informing them of the outcome of the investigation.

Reply:

(1) The following response is based on the information provided by eThekwini, Cape Town Metropolitan municipalities and Gauteng Provincial Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. Mangaung and Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan municipalities indicated that they do not have a Metropolitan Police departments. Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality has Security and Traffic Services which has about 600 employees. Buffalo City did not meet the deadline for submission of responses. However, the municipality has been requested to respond accordingly. The information will be delivered to the honourable member as soon as it is received.

(2) The number of officers are currently employed by each of the metropolitan police departments are provided below:

Metropolitan Municipality	Number of officers are currently employed each of the metropolitan police department
eThekwini	1866 officers
Cape Town	557 officers
Ekurhuleni	1375 officers
Johannesburg	3017 officers
Tshwane	3815 officers
Mangaung	No applicable
Nelson Mandela Bay	No applicable

by

Reply:

The response below is based on information received from the Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality (as approved by Minister P Gordhan on 3rd Sep 2015)

 (a) The municipality allocated a total amount of R156 million for Zone Plans, i.e. block sum allocations to each ward, in the 2014-15 budget.

(b) (i) The funds allocated to each ward are utilized for the implementation of small projects that are identified by Councilors in consultation with ward residents. (ii) Wards benefiting have been reduced to 78 wards that have less developed municipal infrastructure and the budget allocation for each ward varies depending on the project identified. The 25 wards that were excluded are highly developed and have all the necessary municipal services.

(c) The quested information still needs to be discussed first at Council level as it relates to the 2014/15 financial year’s budget, which ended on 31 July 2015.

Reply:

The information was provided by uMshwathi Local Municipality and approved by Minister P Gordhan):

  (1) Yes, it was owned by the former Development Services Board (DSB) in 1994 – 1995.

    (a) It was transferred to Air Health Committee, then the Health Committee became Cool Air TLC in 1996 – 2000. In December 2000, the Cool Air TLC was amalgamated into uMshwathi Municipality.

   (b) There were four areas that were controlled by Development Services Board-Dalton, Cool Air, Wartburg and New Hanover, that were converted into Health Committees and the assets from DSB were handed over to these Health Committees.

  (2) The arrangements for Cool Air Secondary School is for them to book the hall in advance at no cost to the school.

 

Reply:

The question by the Honourable member should be directed to the National Treasury. The National Treasury manages the expenditure and the budgets of municipalities in line with the provisions in the Municipal Finance Management Act. Municipalities report budgetary matters in terms of s71 of the MFMA and are best placed to respond to matters relating to budget and expenditures of all municipalities.

Reply:

The responses below were received from the metropolitan municipalities:

All the Metropolitan Municipalities stated that they have a Municipal Public Accounts Committees.

The table below illustrates the responses to question (a), (b), (c) and (d) as per municipality.

Attached please find here: Table

 

Reply:

The response below was provided by the municipality:

The Pikoli report was considered by Counsel (Adv Ronassen), who provided legal opinion to the effect that the report was nothing else but a precursor to a full scale investigation. In light of the above, the full scale investigation is currently being conducted by the National Treasury.

Reply:

The response below was provided by municipality:

(a) Following the recommendations of the Kabuso forensic report, the employment contracts of the Municipal Manager and Strategic Manager in the Office of the Mayor were terminated. Further, a committee was established consisting of councillors to address issues implicating councillors and an action plan was also submitted to Council in order to address issues implicating officials. This process is being coordinated by the Administrator.

(b) The municipality's legal representatives are engaging with those implicated with a view to recover the financial losses incurred by the municipality.

(c) I was not aware that the Kabuso report is supposed to be tabled in Parliament. The Administrator is dealing with this matter and would adhere to such a request.

Reply:

1 (a) (b). Yes, a process of entering into payment agreements between each of the affected municipalities is in its final stages. The Department of Co-operative Governance ((DCoG) in collaboration with Department of Public Enterprise (OPE), SALGA, Provincial COGTA's and Treasury conducted work sessions with the affected municipalities and Eskom. A detailed affordability analysis was conducted for each municipality taking into account its unique circumstances, the root causes for non-payment as well as other municipal commitments. This work resulted in new payment arrangements being drafted for Eskom's consideration. On approval by Eskom, these agreements will be formalised with municipalities by means of council resolutions. Eskom aims to have all the agreements in place with municipalities by end of May 2016.

2. (a). Yes, since the draft payment agreements were based on the affordability analysis; they will be affordable to municipalities.

(b) The debt will be reduced because one of the conditions of the agreements is that municipalities pay their current debt over and above the agreement amount to service outstanding debt. .

3. Eskom is still engaging and finalising discussions with the municipalities on agreed payment terms and to date there is no municipality that has finalised and signed the payment agreement with Eskom. Compliance will only be monitored once agreements are reached between Eskom and the municipalities.

4. During the inter-ministerial negotiations; Eskom made a commitment to consider waving the interest for municipalities who adhere to their payment terms and to consider reviewing the payment period. However; the response received from Eskom in that regard is as follows:
"Considering the Eskom financial situation and in line with the PFMA and MFMA requirements as well as the Supply Agreements held with our customers, Eskom has decided to continue to apply the 15 days payment period as well as charging Prime plus 5% on overdue amounts."

Reply:

Attached please find here: Reply
 

Reply:

Attached please find here: Reply
 

Reply:

(a) Ministers private passport was used and stamped for:

    (i) entry into Dubai and

    (ii) exit from South Africa

(b) Minister travelled in his private capacity and the trip was paid for in his private capacity.

Reply:

According to Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, the institution has not yet established who gave the instruction for the billboards to be removed and it is still investigating the matter.

Reply:

According to the information received from the Metropolitan Municipalities,

(a) The total number of leakages that were (i) reported and (ii) fixed since 1 July 2015 are indicated below:

Buffalo City: leakages reported 1 928 and fixed 1 928;

City of Cape Town: leakages reported 27 500 and fixed 27 500;

City of Johannesburg: leakages reported 22 431 and fixed 22 408;

City of Tshwane: leakages reported 61 000 and fixed 56 000;

Ekurhuleni: leakages reported 31 857 and fixed 31 850;

eThekwini: leakages reported 104 960 and fixed 103 176;

Manguang: leakages reported 16 976 and fixed 13 442;

Nelson Mandela Bay: leakages reported 8 014 and fixed 8 014.

(b) The litres of water that were lost due to leakages since 1 July 2015:

Buffalo City: not measured;

City of Cape Town: 2 978 Million Litres;

City of Johannesburg: 11 531 Million Litres;

City of Tshwane: 64 000 Million Litres;

Ekurhuleni: 41 880 Million Litres;

eThekwini: 279 Million Litres per Day; (approximately 2,511 million)

Manguang: 3,658 Million Litres per Day; (approximately 32,922 million)

Nelson Mandela Bay: 34 000 Million Litres.

(c) The average response time to fix the leakages are:

Buffalo City: 3 hours;

City of Cape Town: less than 24 hours;

City of Johannesburg: 32 hours;

City of Tshwane: 48 hours;

Ekurhuleni: 47 hours;

eThekwini: 1 to 2 working days;

Manguang: 3 working days;

Nelson Mandela Bay: 4 hours.

Reply:

1. Minister can confirm that he was in Dubai during the month of December 2015. This was a private trip and no business meetings took place.

2. A letter was sent to the Presidency requesting leave as well as advising of overseas trip. There was no response or specific brief as it was a Private trip.

3. This was a private trip and no official meetings were held.

Reply:

The response below was provided by the Makana Local Municipality:

(a) Following the recommendations of the Kabuso forensic report, the employment contracts of the Municipal Manager and Strategic Manager in the Office of the Mayor were terminated. Further, a committee was established consisting of councillors to address issues implicating councillors and an action plan was also submitted to Council in order to address issues implicating officials. This process is being coordinated by the Administrator.

(b) The municipality’s legal representatives are engaging with those implicated with a view to recover the financial losses incurred by the municipality.

(c) The Administrator is dealing with this matter and would adhere to such a request.

 

Reply:

The response below was provided by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality:

The Pikoli report was considered by Counsel (Adv Ranassem), who provided legal opinion to the effect that the report was nothing else but a precursor to a full scale investigation. In light of the above, the full scale investigation is currently being conducted by the National Treasury.

 

Reply:

The question by the Honourable member should be directed to the National Treasury. The National Treasury manages the expenditure and the budgets of municipalities in line with the provisions in the Municipal Finance Management Act. Municipalities report budgetary matters in terms of s71 of the MFMA and are best placed to respond to matters relating to budget and expenditures of all municipalities.

Reply:

(a) (aa) (cc))(b)

The Minister and his Deputy Ministers have never met with members, employee and/or close associates of the Gupta family in their official capacities.  

(aa)(bb)(aaa)(bbb)(aaaa)(bbbb)(ccc) Not applicable

Reply:

According to the information provided by the Eastern Cape Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs:

a) (i) The total cost to the Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs in the Eastern Cape for the services of Ms Pam Yako, who was the Administrator in the municipality for a total period of nine months, was R3 089 928 .96.

(ii) Her replacement, a Senior Manager in the employ of the same department, was (and still is) remunerated at the normal level applicable to public servants at senior managerial level (Salary Level 13), because he is currently performing his functions in the municipality on secondment by the department.

b) According to the information we received from the abovementioned department, Ms Yako was paid an amount of R2 014 133. 76 for the first six months of her contract in the municipality. The payment was for work performed for four days per week for the first three months, each day calculated at eight hours at the DPSA rate of R2 568 per hour. It was also for work performed for three days per week for the second three months, each day still calculated at eight hours at the same DPSA rate of R2 568 per hour. Her contract was later extended for a period of three months. For this period (the last three months), she was remunerated at the DPSA rate of R 1 966 per hour for work performed for five days per week, each day constituting eight hours of work as usual, which amounts to R1 075 795. 20. When both amounts are combined, she was paid a total amount of R3 089 928 .96, as already reflected above.

As already stated, Ms Yako’s successor is remunerated at his current salary level (Salary Level 13) applicable to him as an employee of the provincial department occupying a senior managerial post.

c) In respect of the current legal status of the intervention, this intervention is still legal because it was approved by both my predecessor (Minister Pravin Gordhan) and the NCOP, in terms of the provisions of section 139(2) of the Constitution. The approval by Minister Gordhan and the NCOP came after the intervention was reinstated by the Provincial Executive a few weeks after it had been withdrawn following its disapproval by the NCOP.

Reply:

The requested information is not readily available within the department. We have however, since requested these municipalities to provide the information and will therefore submit to you as soon as it becomes available.

Reply:

The requested information is not readily available within the department. We have however, since requested these municipalities to provide the information and will therefore submit to you as soon as it becomes available.

Reply:

The requested information is not readily available within the department. We have however, since requested these municipalities to provide the information and will therefore submit to you as soon as it becomes available.

Reply:

(1)(a)

According to the municipality, currently total number of vacant positions is 1774, out of an approved staff establishment of 7 234.

(1)(b)

The table below provides a detailed summary of the vacancies per Directorate, as provided by the municipality:

Directorate	Vacancies
Public Health	290
Special Programmes	14
Office of the Chief Operating Officer	24
Infrastructure and Engineering	523
Electricity and Energy	219
Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture	146
Municipal Manager	5
Budget and Treasury	158
Safety and Security	161
Executive Mayor	12
Human Settlements	117
Corporate Services	105
Total =	1774

All recruitment processes were stopped with the implementation of a moratorium on the filling of vacancies on 18 June 2015, due to financial constraints.

(1) (c)

According to the Municipality, the moratorium on the filling of critical vacancies has now been uplifted. A Critical Vacancy Task Team was established in December 2015 consisting of top management in the Municipality. This Task Team has been mandated to priorize the filling of critical vacancies, especially during the 2015/16 municipal financial year.

As from 1 April 2016 to date, 150 recruitment notices are at various stages of the internal HR processes. These recruitment notices represent approximately 200 critical vacant positions. To date four adverts have been placed with a minimum of fifteen positions to go out on a weekly basis as from the end of April 2016.

(2)

According to the municipality, the required number of Civil Engineers is 5 (2 Roads, 2 Water and 1 Transport).

3 (a)

According to the Municipality, the éstimated expenditure on consultants in the financial years 2011-12, 2012-13,2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 since 1 April 2016 is R846,200 000.

See table below for expenditure per year:

FINANCIAL YEAR	Costs of consultants R (000)
2011/12	135.5
2012/13	170.9
2013/14	185.6
2014/15	191.3
2015/16 ( April 2016)	162.9
Total	846.2

(3) (b)

According to the Municipality, during the financial years in question, a total of R94 597 647 was spent on legal fees. The details per annum are provided in the table below.

Legal expenses for 2011-12; 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16

FINANCIAL YEAR	EXPENDITURE
2011/12	R15 339 703
2012/13	R14 746 821
2013/14	R17 677 108
2014/15	R22 173 641
2015/16 (at 19 April 2016)	R24 660 374
TOTAL	R94 597 647

(3) (c)

According to the Municipality, during the financial years in question, R27 439 424 was spent on marketing and communications. The details per annum are provided in the table below.

Marketing and communications expenditure for 2011-12; 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16

FINANCIAL YEAR	EXPENDITURE
2011/12	R7 150 996
2012/13	R2 718 742
2013/14	R4 714 848
2014/15	R7 152 258
2015/16 (at 19 April 2016)	R5 702 580
Total	R27 439 424

Reply:

(1) (2)

Minister can confirm that he was in Dubai during the month of December 2015. This was a private trip and no meetings were held where President Jacob Zuma or any member of the Gupta family was present.

Reply:

1. (2) (a)(b)

Minister has no additional business earning income from Government neither does his Spouse, children nor is he aware of any close family member/s.

Reply:

(a). On the list of affected municipalities that are currently under threat of disconnection by Eskom due to non-payment, Ventersdrop, Tswaing and Madibeng local municipality are the only municipalities that are under Section 139 of the Constitution.

(b). The Minister of CoGTA and the MEC in North West province have agreed to strengthen the capacity of the Administrators in Tswaing and Ventersdorp by developing Section 154 support packages. A political steering committee led by the Minister will be established to monitor and oversee the implementation of the 154 support package by the technical task team. The technical task team developed the terms of reference in February 2016 and the Administrators of Tswaing and Ventersdorp will be receiving support from the technical task team on identified areas of intervention.

(c). Yes; the affected municipalities under Section 139 of the Constitution do have financial recovery plans in place that are being monitored by the provincial treasuries.

(i). The intervention relevant to the municipal bulk electricity disconnections by Eskom in the various provinces triggered an intervention by Ministers of Cogta, Finance and Public Enterprises.

A task team was formed which constituted of Departments of Cooperative Governance, Public Enterprises, Eskom, SALGA, National Treasury and their provincial counterparts to conduct an in depth analysis into the financial status of the affected Municipalities in Northern Cape, Free State, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and North West Provinces.

The task team facilitated the development of new or revised agreements between the affected municipalities and Eskom. These are more realistic payment agreements after careful consideration of the individual municipality’s financial circumstances and taking into account other key creditors. The task team also proposed recovery plans for each municipality by identifying opportunities that will assist the municipalities to improve revenue collection and reduce non-revenue electricity.

The task team will continue to monitor adherence to the payment agreements and the implementation of the recovery plans.

(ii). The engagements with the affected municipalities were held during February and March 2016 as follows:

• 15 -16 February 2016 for Northern Cape Municipalities;
• 17 – 18 February 2016 for Free State Munuciplities
• 25-26 February 2016 for Eastern Cape municipalities,
• 26 January 2016 and 10 to 11 March 2016 for North West Municipalities;
• 22 to 23 February and 29th of February 2016 to 04th March 2016 for Mpumalanga municipalities.

The monitoring will be a continuous process until the municipalities are up to date with their payments.

(iii). Yes; there has been progress because it is as a result of this intervention that the scheduled March 2016 disconnections were put on hold by Eskom on condition that the municipalities adhere to the payment agreements. Realistic payment plans have been signed between Eskom and most of the affected municipalities and the remaining are in the final stages of formalising the proposed agreements.

 

Reply:

The requested information is yet to be received from the Metropolitan Municipalities. We are however, making efforts to follow-up on it and the Honourable Member will therefore be updated on progress.

 

Reply:

The requested information is yet to be received from the Metropolitan Municipalities. We are however, making efforts to follow-up on it and the Honourable Member will therefore be updated on progress.

 

Reply:

The question by the Honourable member should be directed to the National Treasury. The National Treasury manages the expenditure and the budgets of municipalities in line with the provisions in the Municipal Finance Management Act. Municipalities report budgetary matters in terms of s71 of the MFMA and are best placed to respond to matters relating to budget and expenditures of all municipalities.