Wheels come off in troubled Emfuleni municipality

CORRUPTION and mismanagement of funds have led to the collapse of service delivery in the Emfuleni Local Municipality. With local government elections around the corner, it remains to be seen if the polls will spawn real change on the ground.

Since the 2016 local government elections, the embattled ANC-governed municipality has been limping from crisis to crisis, with residents bearing the brunt of a serial collapse of public services.

The municipality has been marred by poor electricity supply, water taps running dry, sewage spilling on to the streets, crumbling road infrastructure and uncollected refuse piling up.

The municipality has deployed three mayors, with the first one (Simone Mofokeng) sacked, the second (Jacob Khawe) was redeployed after he was elected as the ANC Gauteng provincial secretary, and the incumbent Gift Moerane hoping for re-election.

The dire state of affairs in the municipality has been widely attributed to mismanagement by both political and administrative principals.

In 2018, the Hawks launched an investigation into R870 million worth of irregular expenditure awarded by the council during the 2016/17 financial year. Several investigations in 2019 by Comperio, a forensic audit firm, uncovered potential fraud, corruption and maladministration involving a number of contracts.

The cash-strapped Emfuleni is one of the worst performing municipalities in the country. The municipality was placed under administration in 2018 due to financial mismanagement and lack of service delivery.

At the time, Gauteng Premier David Makhura said the municipality was not able to guarantee the provision of a minimum standard of services to communities without intervention from the national or provincial government.

But very little has changed since the intervention, while the dire situation has arguably gone from bad to worse.

Last week, Eskom attached the municipality’s bank account and assets, following its failure to pay R3.5 billion owed to the power utility, while the municipality also owes R1.3 billion to Rand Water.

The 2019/20 Auditor-General report highlighted how Emfuleni was one of the 175 municipalities that contributed to unauthorised expenditure of R22 billion. The municipality was found to have spent R1.65 billion without any provision by the council for the expenditure in the approved budget or the spending meeting the conditions of a grant.

This is one of the municipalities where there has been a total collapse of internal control, severe financial health problems, and a complete lack of accountability.

Sewage in the Vaal River has been well-documented, but the situation is unchanged in Boipatong, where residents are forced to live with pools of stenchy water that flows through their streets.

The Sunday Independent has been reporting that the situation was not only a health hazard, but has caused suffering to schools and residential areas where polluted water flows into residential yards. Raw sewage has been flowing into the Vaal River from pump stations affecting areas such as Sebokeng, Vereeniging, Bophelong, Boipatong and Sharpeville.

The SA Human Rights Commission’s report last year revealed that only 11 out of 44 sewage pumps in Emfuleni were operational. The Commission also found that the lack of wastewater treatment was a violation of several human rights and gave the government 60 days to respond.

Boipatong resident Vusi Mbele, 64, said he was forced to scoop sewage water from his yard every day.

“This has been stressful for a while now. It’s worse when it is raining. We’ve tried to inform the authorities about it but nothing is happening. This has also destroyed my furniture and I am not working. How will I buy it again?”

Another resident, Samson Motaung, said his bathroom was leaking, and as a result, he was forced to build another toilet outside.

“We have been calling these people to come and fix them but nothing has changed. This sewage continues to flow from my house to the streets. This is not good for the people,” he said.

Heather Molete said she was worried about her health.

“Today it’s better. This has been happening for years and I am worried we might get sick because of it. We are afraid but there’s nothing we can do because the municipality does not serve us,” she said.

In Sebokeng, Zone 24, residents have been living without electricity for almost two years after three power transformers exploded last year between April and May.

“I have been living without electricity for two years now. They have been telling us that they will come and repair these transformers, and this is what they are telling us every time we call them. This is sad because I have a terrible flu and the house is cold. I feel this government is useless,” said a resident, Itumeleng Mmekwa.

Another resident, Thandi Mdakane, said: “The situation is worse. Now we have to ask some people to use their refrigerators to keep our food. I also have to ask for boiled water from people who have electricity because I use paraffin and gas to cook. This is an expensive life because I have to buy 25 litres of paraffin and it doesn’t last for a month,” she said.

Another resident Neo Morabe said potholes in the roads were causing damage to cars which is costly to fix.

“They are very bad and one needs to drive with caution. They can damage tyres and the car. The situation in this municipality is bad, there are piles of rubbish everywhere to show that there’s also a lack of refuse collection. The potholes as well are everywhere. These people (officials) are not working for us. They are enriching themselves,” she said.

In Small Farms, Victor Ramaisa said: “Look at our roads … They are riddled with potholes while the municipality is no longer collecting rubbish. That is why you see many dump sites in this area.

“Even electricity, we’ve been without it for more than two years now and the municipality is not helping.”

Against this backdrop, government officials have been making numerous promises to change the plight of residents for the better.

During his visit to the area this year, Deputy President David Mabuza apologised to the residents and promised to update them about progress at the water treatment plant.

“The capacity to treat is up to scratch. The only thing left is to unblock the sewage that is spilling all over human settlements in order for it to flow into the treatment plant. Emfuleni has enough capacity to deal with sewer (problems),” he said.

In April, former minister of water and sanitation Lindiwe Sisulu assured the community and the business sector that the government was committed to restoring dilapidated infrastructure, which has over the years contributed to the pollution of the Vaal River. She said the government would invoke Section 63 of the Water Services Act, which would have seen the department taking over water and sanitation services within the jurisdiction of the Emfuleni Local Municipality.

In 2019, during the provincial launch of the Good Green Deeds campaign at the Sharpeville Community Hall, Makhura promised he would come to Emfuleni every week for a sustainable cleaning campaign.