They do not have the skills and capability to achieve their plans and objectives, or to deliver and maintain their infrastructure.
They do not have the skills and capability to achieve their plans and objectives, or to deliver and maintain their infrastructure.
If metropolitan municipalities were to deliver the quality services expected by citizens, this would have a significant impact on the lives of most South Africans and businesses - and this is a noble (and very necessary) goal worth working towards.
Metros are what are described as category-A municipalities, which grants them the exclusive executive and legislative authority within their areas of jurisdiction, as well as assigns them full water, sanitation, refuse and electricity functions. Their mandate is to drive development and economic sustainability.
In the 2023-24 reporting period, the eight metros (Cities of Cape Town, Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg and Tshwane; and Buffalo City, eThekwini, Mangaung and Nelson Mandela Bay) delivered services to 8.9 million households - 46% of all households in the country. Together with their entities, they were responsible for 57% (R351.37-billion) of the estimated local government expenditure budget for the year.
However, since the sixth local government administration took office in 2021, the metros have not shown real improvement. In fact, three of the eight received an unqualified audit opinion with findings and four a qualified audit opinion...
