Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Estelle Ellis
Published on 2024-03-07 22:25:51
The rural municipalities of the Eastern Cape in South Africa have come under scrutiny for returning R2.2 billion in unspent grants to the National Treasury since 2019. This revelation was made by MEC for cooperative governance Zolile Williams during a session in the province’s legislature in response to a question from the Democratic Alliance. The funds returned exclude those from the province’s two metros and do not account for unspent grants for the current financial year, which will only be finalized at the end of March.
The underspending by rural municipalities in the Eastern Cape has had significant consequences on the communities living there. Critical infrastructure such as roads, water systems, and electrical infrastructure have been neglected, leaving residents to deal with crumbling infrastructure and shortages of essential services.
One of the key issues highlighted is the poor spending record of municipalities on key grants such as the Municipal Infrastructure Grant, the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant, and the Electrification Programme. With only three weeks left in the financial year, these municipalities have only managed to spend between 17% and 61% of the allocated funds. This has put crucial infrastructure projects at risk, with Nelson Mandela Bay alone facing the potential loss of R542 million in grant funding.
The lack of spending on infrastructure projects has had dire consequences for the residents of these rural municipalities. Many are forced to live with sewage in their streets, lack of access to clean water, and unreliable electricity supply due to incompetence and maladministration in managing the allocated funds.
The situation has worsened over the years, with the underspending of grants in rural municipalities quadrupling between 2020 and 2021 and doubling again in 2022. Between the financial years 2019/20 and 2022/23, a significant amount of allocated funds for various grants was returned, totaling over a billion rand.
In response to these challenges, MEC Williams announced a risk-adjusted strategy to address the ongoing issue of grant underspending. He emphasized the need to improve grant implementation and support the municipalities in executing their projects effectively. Despite the negative messaging surrounding local government, Williams highlighted some success stories, such as the OR Tambo District Municipality, which managed to spend 60% of its grants.
The Eastern Cape province is working towards improving its spending record and ensuring that allocated funds are used effectively to benefit the communities in need. The government is committed to addressing the challenges faced by rural municipalities and providing support to boost the implementation of infrastructure projects.
Overall, the underspending of grants in the Eastern Cape’s rural municipalities has had a detrimental impact on the quality of life for residents. Addressing this issue is crucial to ensuring that communities have access to essential services and functioning infrastructure.
Read the original article on Daily Maverick
