Honourable Speaker;
The Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Hon. N Dube-Ncube;
Leader of Government Business and MEC for EDTEA, Hon S. Duma Members of the KwaZulu-Natal Executive Council;
Honourable Members of the Provincial Legislature; Ingonyama yeSizwe sakwaZulu, Indlulamithi yamaKhosi, Members of the Zulu Royal Family in our midst;
Chairperson of the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders, Inkosi uShinga; Amakhosi AseNdlunkulu present;
Chairperson of SALGA;
Mayors and Councillors of municipalities;
Heads of Departments and government officials; Communities and People of KwaZulu-Natal;
All members of the media
Theme: “Supporting Local Government and Traditional Leadership Institutions to become effective service delivery hubs for the betterment of the KZN Province.”
Intoduction and Context
Madame Speaker, we present this, the fourth Budget Speech Vote 11: Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs inspired by the remarkable fortitude resilience, tenacity, and sense of solidarity of the people of KwaZulu-Natal as has been witnessed over time.
We are encouraged by the message of hope and clear plan of action to overcome challenges like electricity supply, water provision, unemployment, and crime that we received from His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa in the State of the Nation Address and from the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Honourable Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
In the year ahead, KwaZulu-Natal COGTA will mobilise stakeholders in a social compact aimed at accelerating and deepening effective integrated planning and service delivery systems. It will be a year of ensuring that the District Development Model (DDM) and One-Plans are fully implemented across our Province
We will draw strength and courage from the phenomenal success of the matric class of 2022 which surpassed all expectations having witnessed at least three major, devastating tragedies – Covid-19, deadly unrests of July 2021, and the catastrophic floods last year. Our message to our department, municipalities and traditional leadership institutions is that with sheer determination, we can also beat the odds that face us as a province.
After a long, cloudy winter that engulfed KwaZulu-Natal, we are seeing the rainbow of hope in the horizon in the statue and efforts of our beloved King, His Majesty King MisuZulu kaZwelithini.
We wish to pay a special tribute to ISILO for his wise words of council and unifying message when His Majesty opened the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature on 23 February 2023. ISILO also graced the Opening of the House of the Traditional and Khoi – San Leaders, in Ulundi on the 7th of March 2023. We wish to assure ISILO that as Cogta, we are determined to enhance our contribution in making KwaZulu-Natal a trailblazer by bringing all stakeholders in a social compact to improve local government which is at the coalface of service delivery. Siyafisa futhi ukuqinisekisa wen’ Omdala ukuthi sizokwenza konke okusemandleni njengoMnyango ukuthi lube khona uzinzo esakhiweni sobuholi bendabuko kulesiFundazwe. Lokhu sizokwenza ngoba siyaqonda njengoHulumeni ophetheyo ukuthi ubuholi bendabuko buneqhaza elibalulekile ekuthuthukiseni isizwe.
President Ramphosa was unambiguous in the State of the Nation Address that the poor performance of many municipalities is a key area of concern for the Sixth Administration. In KwaZulu-Natal, we are also experiencing an added challenge with the murder of Amakhosi and Izinduna which if not arrested has the potential to destabilise cooperative governance and deprive communities of basic services and development.
In this regard, we welcome the marching orders given by our Premier to take decisive action to enhance the capacity and performance of local government. We further support the call for communities and law enforcement agencies to draw a line in the sand on the murder of our revered traditional leaders.
In the context of persistent challenges around electricity and water, we wish to assure the people of KwaZulu-Natal that together with all the relevant stakeholders, we will redouble our efforts to mitigate the impact of load-shedding which also affects the provision of water and other services to our communities.
We draw strength from the announcements in the SONA and SOPA on key water and energy infrastructure projects, including the green sources of energy which will also help KwaZulu-Natal to be more climate resilient as we continue to face the climate emergency brought about by inclement weather.
The KZN Department of Cogta stands ready to work with our resourceful communities, councillors, traditional leaders, the business community, and all our stakeholders to speed up dignified service delivery as our unique contribution to the attainment of the noble vision of a South Africa that is truly united, non-racial, non-sexist, equal, democratic and prosperous.
Paying attention to the needs of communities
Madame Speaker, this Budget Speech serves as a crucial reporting instrument on the progress the Department has accomplished in the implementation of the undertakings it made last year to the people of KwaZulu-Natal in this august House. We will use the opportunity to present our plans and a vision for a cooperative local government in collaboration with the institution of traditional leadership in KwaZulu- Natal. We remain guided by the ideal of a people-centred, capable local government geared towards building peaceful, prosperous and sustainable communities through the delivery of quality, dignified basic services.
In this regard, we wish to commend the people of KwaZulu-Natal who informed this address by providing us with input through public engagements and social media. Shama Naidu wrote to us via Facebook. To cite her, she said, “I’m sure there are qualified electricians to sort out Pietermaritzburg electrical problems. Please help resolve electrical issues of our town as soon as possible”. Tholakele Masinga, from uMlazi K section is concerned about load-shedding and uncollected garbage. Sipho Xulu who has a Master’s degree in Public Administration wrote to us enquiring about internships at local government to gain experiential learning. We will use this Budget vote to respond to them and many more others who took time to engage us.
Overview of performance in the 2022/2023 financial year
Madam Speaker, we are pleased to present this Budget Policy Statement having achieved a clean audit outcome. Thanks to the foundation laid by my predecessors, this is the third clean audit in succession by the department. We pay a special tribute to the Head of Department and the entire Management team for leading by force of example
A new term for the KwaZulu-Natal House of Traditional Leaders
Madam Speaker, on 29 June 2022, our Province reconstituted the KwaZulu-Natal House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders. We congratulate Inkosi Shinga for his election to lead the House for the five-year term of office. In November 2022, we had a three-day strategic planning session with representatives of traditional leaders. The gathering agreed to prioritise rural development, the safety of Amakhosi and iziNduna, and to accelerate service delivery.
We are pleased that we have reached consensus with our traditional leaders about the need to prioritise infrastructure development, agriculture support, local economic development, social cohesion and rooting out Gender-Based Violence and Femicide.
We are also happy to report on a historic moment that took place recently, where Indlulamithi yamaKhosi presided over the official opening of the Provincial House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders for the very first time since assuming his position as The King. We are deeply humbled by the direction provided by ISilo on matters affecting Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership in our province.
April and May 2022 Floods and Disaters
Madam Speaker, the 2022 floods left a permanent wound, untold suffering, and vast damage to KwaZulu-Natal.
The province recorded a total of 785 disaster-related incidents. These weather conditions comprised incidents related to heavy rainfalls, strong winds, structural collapse, mudslides, and flooding.
Latest figures show that a total of 27 069 households were affected, 8 584 houses were totally destroyed, and a total of 13 536 houses were partially destroyed. The total cost of damages to infrastructure was estimated at more than R25,3 billion.
KZN COGTA, through the Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC), District Disaster Management Centres, and municipalities responded to most reported incidents. On 12 April 2022 in terms of Section 23 of the Disaster Management Act of 2002 the floods were classified as a State of National Disaster.
The National Treasury directed all state organs affected by the disaster to initiate the process of reprioritizing budgets and reallocation of funds in conditional grants.
Through the Provincial Disaster Management Centre, KZN COGTA consolidated and submitted a comprehensive report and beneficiary list to the National Disaster Management Centre to request funding from the national sphere of government.
Municipal Disaster Relief Grant for the April/May 2022 floods that were allocated to KZN Municipalities for Phase 1 was a total amount of R87 393 000, 00. (87-million, 393 thousand)
Phase 2 amounted to R134 457 00.00 (R134 million, R457 thousand) and an additional R 6 3000 000.00 was allocated for 2019/20 flood disaster, Umzumbe was allocated 9 million from the Municipal Disaster Recovery Grant for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the affected infrastructure, and Phase 5 amounted to R185 000 000.00 (R185-million)
A further 2,9 billion (R2 964 448 601.02) was allocated for the April 2022 floods to continue with the implementation of the reconstruction and rehabilitation program and this funding was transferred in March 2023 to enable the municipalities to commence with major infrastructure rehabilitations.
Rebuilding KwaZulu-Natal after the Storm
Honourable Speaker, we appreciate efforts by national government to declare KwaZulu-Natal a State of National Disaster. This helped to bring together all spheres of government to manage the impact of the disaster and to alleviate the suffering on our people. As a coordinating department, KZN COGTA was visibly at the forefront of efforts to mitigate the impact of the floods on our communities and stakeholders.
In our efforts to perfect the implementation of the District Development Plan (DDM), there is no doubt that there are important lessons for everyone to learn. It is clear that we need to strengthen coordination and speedy approvals of resources meant for disaster relief.
We have learned that when the three spheres of government don’t speak in one voice, this creates confusion and avoidable stress. As a Province, we registered our misgivings with the national government, Treasury to be specific, about the delays in the release of disaster funds and the confusion that was created about the amount announce by the national government which initially gave the impression to the public that pronounced funds by the President were meant for KwaZulu-Natal only, when in fact it was meant for disaster relief in three flood-struck Provinces – KZN, NW, EC.
Once again, we thank all people and organisations who offered a helping hand in relief and resettlement efforts. We bow our heads in respect of those who perished in rescue efforts. As we still heal our wounds and rebuild our Province, we also wish to express solidarity and convey our condolences to the people of Turkey and Syria who recently faced devastating earthquakes.
To our dismay we were once again shaken on the 3rd of April as an unforgiving tornado swept through different parts of the King Cetshwayo District. We are thankful that while there was significant damage to people’s homes and businesses, only one life was lost. It is one too many but it could have been much worse.
On Sunday the 16th of April we were alerted to a devastating fire incident in the Dakota Informal settlement in Isipingo where more than 350 households with over 800 people lost their homes and belongings. It was sad to see more than 308 children left homeless. The Government is currently finalising assessments and will be issuing building material to enable the affected communities to rebuild while a more permanent solution is being investigated. We thank all social partners that came on board to assist with relief and food. We call upon more donors to assist with clothing and any other household goods to help normalise the livelihoods. The assessments are continuing in these areas while immediate relief is being provided to those affected which includes food, water, sleeping ware, ablutions, health care and replacement of documents. We acknowledge that the affected communities are not willing to be moved from the areas of work opportunities, options are being pursued to ensure the communities are accommodated in the vicinity of the original settlements
Programme 1: Administration
Preferential Procurement
Madame Speaker, it remains a departmental policy to utilise public procurement to actively empower previously marginalised communities. We have specific targets for women, youth, and people living with disabilities as a means to level the playing fields.
In the past financial year, the provincial department of Cogta again succeeded in ensuring that 30% of our public procurement budget is set aside for awarding to SMMEs, cooperatives, township- and rural- based enterprises, and people living with disabilities. The Department continues to mainstream gender parity and to achieve Generation Equality. The department supported economic transformation and Black Economic Empowerment by ensuring that 60% of all bids were awarded to Africans. We ensured that no less than 30% of procurement was awarded to women and women-owned business. Equally, we met the minimum target of 10% to military veterans, 5% to people living with disabilities, and 15% to the youth.
Building skills for a developmental Stae and Creating an Inclusive Workplace
We continue to make strides to build skills required for the department and an ethical, capable, developmental state. We continue to work closely with the National School of Government, SALGA, and other stakeholders to professionalise the public service and enhance skills.
COGTA developed a training plan with specific priority training needs for 2022/23 within the areas of Dispute Resolution; Advanced Excel, Word and Power Point; Programme in Leadership; Financial Management; Forensic Training; Report Writing; Emotional Intelligence; Cyber Security; SITA Govtech Occupational Directed Education Training and Developmental Program and Project Management.
Recognition of Prior Learning
The Department has taken a decision to pursue avenues for recognition of prior learning for officials who have gathered years of experience in various fields but have not been able to acquire any formal qualifications. We have already started engaging institutions of higher learning whilst we have also identified the first cohort of officials to take part in the programme. This consists of a total of 162 officials who have completed Grades 8 to 12 with some also having PSIRA certificates. The intention is to continue rolling this initiative across the department and municipalities as a way of assisting officials to obtain qualifications in different fields.
Employment of people with designated groups
We will continue to attract People Living with Disabilities and achieve gender parity by supporting the recruitment of women in Management positions. At present, COGTA has achieved the target of at least 2% people (we’re currently sitting at 2,3%) living with disability and we have 65% of women in Senior Management.
Programme 2: Local Government
Employment of people with designated groups
Madame Speaker, in the 2023 State of the Nation Address, President Ramaphosa bemoaned the fact that “163 out of 257 municipalities are dysfunctional or in distress due to poor governance, ineffective and sometimes corrupt financial and administrative management and poor service delivery.” We agree with the President on the need for consequence management, attracting a highly skilled, ethical, public service on merit. Equally, we must focus on maintaining and upgrading municipal infrastructure as well as taking decisive steps in line with the Constitution to intervene in broken municipalities.
In September 2022, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs began conducting an assessment of the state of local government in all 54 municipalities in KZN. The results of this fresh assessment are providing the department with credible information not only on the general state of local government in the province. They are also new yardstick to determine whether the support provided by COGTA, other sector departments and other relevant government entities are yielding any tangible impact on the performance of municipalities.
Stabilising Government in coalition municipalities
Honourable Members, the 2021 local government elections led to an increase in the number of hung municipalities resulting in the establishment of coalition governments. While coalitions have become a norm in other countries, they are still a relatively new development in our country and present specific challenges which affect governance and delivery of basic services.
The view of the ANC as outlined in the 2023 January 8 Statement is that we must strengthen our efforts to ensure that we implement a coherent and principled approach to local government coalitions. It is the ANC’s view that such an approach must be premised on promoting service delivery, socio-economic transformation and sustainable development, accountability and people-centred governance. We reject the attempt to make coalitions to be about the sharing of spoils of office by politicians and their parties.
KZN COGTA has begun to officially engage the National Minister of COGTA with a proposal to draft a framework that will govern coalition governments and minimise instability and poor service delivery. We have also brought in SALGA to facilitate setting up conflict management mechanisms to ensure that coalition governments at the municipal level are stable, predictable, and efficient. The Department has further undertaken evidence-based research on coalition governments in order to learn from the research findings how the department can better support coalition municipalities.
Municipal Finance
Madame Speaker, it is clear from the reports of the Auditor-General that a number of our municipalities are facing serious financial challenges leading to dysfunctionality and collapse of service delivery. We are determined to fulfil our legislative mandate of providing dedicated support to municipalities to improve governance and financial management.
Improving audit outcomes and revenue collection in municipalities
Honourable Members, we wish to appraise this House and the people of KwaZulu-Natal that in the past year, COGTA worked tirelessly through our Municipal Finance Business Unit of the Department to improve audit outcomes of municipalities. This was done partly through support via internal resources as well as the deployment of financial experts to targeted municipalities. Audit outcomes reflect an overall improvement in the Province by nine municipalities with 4 clean audits and 37 unqualified audits. We congratulate Okhahlamba, King Cetshwayo District and Umhlathuze Municipalities for retaining their clean audits as well as Ray Nkonyeni Municipality for achieving a clean audit. Part of this support was also given to Municipal Public Accounts Committees and key officials responsible for Supply Chain Management to investigate, process and reduce unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful (UIFW) expenditure.
There has been an increase in the amounts of UIFW addressed by municipalities with R5,368 billion having been resolved and written off by Councils, although overall UIFW incurred during the year remains high and amounted to R7,744 billion. Targeted support to resolve UIFW at the top 10 municipalities contributing to UIFW, is planned.
Reduction of government debt
The whole of government in our Province needs to lead by example by paying for services. Our department has worked hard to get provincial departments to pay their dues to municipalities for rates and service charges. Extensive support has been provided by the Department in reducing government debt which now only reflects the current accounts of all departments for consumer services. Additional funding was made available to the Department of Public Works for the payment of arrear rates debt and this will be paid up within the MTEF period.
We also wish to report that the Department of Education is addressing the debt by Section 21 schools. In addition, a legal task team has been established to address liability for property rates by the Ingonyama Trust Board. This will see arrear government debt by the Province to municipalities being resolved. The
Department has also supported municipalities to enforce their credit control and debt collection policies through revenue and debt management strategies including applying this to government where necessary.
Continued support is provided on the implementation of the Municipal Property Rates Act and we have re-established the Valuation Appeal Boards in the Province for all 10 Districts and the Metro.
Revenue Enhancement Intervention Programme
The Province is ensuring the implementation of water and sanitation projects through revenue enhancement programmes. The Province has held discussions with Water Boards on a review of the current tariff modelling as municipalities continue to fight to break even while Water Boards aim to make a profit.
Municipal revenue collection strategies are being reviewed to advocate prepaid systems to ensure improved recovery of funds for the operation and maintenance of basic service infrastructure. A culture of payment for municipal services has to be instilled for our municipalities to flourish.
Capacity Building
Honourable Speaker, as we reported last year, post the November 2021 local -elections, our department prioritised the capacitation of new and returning councillors through targeted, needs-directed interventions. These included the Councillor Skills Audit that aimed to determine educational levels, current employment, years of experience in local government and training needs of councillors. Its findings will allow for the development of ongoing capacity-building interventions which are aligned with the Councillors’ needs.
In collaboration with SALGA and other stakeholders, we rolled out the Sector-Based Councillor Orientation Workshops aimed at inducting and orientating both new and returning councillors about their roles and responsibilities in the local government environment and the legislation that governs it. The capacitation of Municipal Portfolio Committees, including MPACs, commenced after the induction and orientation as well as additional capacity-building for Speakers through peer learning sessions.
With the recommendations of the Municipal Employee’s Skills audit undertaken in 2021 approved by the GSCID Executive Committee, individual municipal skills audit reports were tabled at municipal council meetings during 2022 and municipalities supported to develop responsive action plans towards the implementation of the recommendations. During the current year, the Department will monitor and support municipalities in the implementation of the Workplace Skills Plans.
The Department co-ordinated online training programmes offered by the National School of Government, to municipalities and these included Leading Change; Introduction to Financial Management and Budgeting and Basic Writing for Government. Further, through the Memorandum of Agreement with the National School of Government, 315 municipal officials benefitted from five funded training programmes that responded directly to the findings of the skills audit namely, Unauthorised, Fruitless and Wasteful Expenditure; Citizen-Centred Service Delivery; Supply Chain Management; Coaching for Leadership and Evidence-Based Policy Making. These efforts ensured that municipal employees are trained in line with the needs identified in the skills audit. Further computer training was extended to 196 Amakhosi in the areas of MS Word; MS Excel; MS Powerpoint and Outlook (e-mail).
Recognition of Prior Learning has been identified as a mechanism to support the capacitation of municipal employees, Councillors and the Institute of Traditional Leaders, as a response to the findings of the Councillor Skills Audit undertaken and the skills audit for municipal employees. The Department will co- ordinate awareness sessions for municipalities and Traditional Leadership institutions on Recognition of Prior Learning processes through partnerships with institutions of higher learning in the Province.
We will also conduct roadshows focusing specifically on building the capacity of councilors in understanding relevant piecs of legislation and the importance of the implementation of bylaws, and standing rules. This will limit the number of litigations emanating from ignorance of the law.
When we do these roadshows we want to ensure that the Councillors/Municipalities do not take illegal decisions, we also want to educate the councilors that when the department or the MEC intervenes it is not because they want to interfere but it is because our job is to make sure that municipalities operate within the ambit of the law.
We have a number of municipalities that are taking the department to court for doing its job in the municipalities. While we do not want to limit their rights, we want to emphasise the importance of acting within the ambits of the law. A municipality, may not engage in any form of litigation process without having obtained a council resolution authorizing that litigation. Another example is that of the Umhlathuze council, that has removed some EXCO and portfolio committee members without going through the correct council procedures, and without the concurrence of the MEC. This case is almost similar to that of Zululand district where a person who has not been legally elected as a Councillor continues to sit and participate in the decision-making processes of council. By law all council members who have allowed these anomalies to continue should be surcharged.
Strengthening Public Participation
Madame Speaker, we can report that the department concluded the re-establishment of Ward Committees and Rapid Response teams in municipalities. Induction and capacity-building sessions have also been conducted. These structures are being assisted by monitoring their functionality through quarterly verification sessions and implementing remedial action where required.
We are paying special attention to strengthening relations between communities and municipalities. In this regard, citizen engagement platforms are being revived, where voices of general community members, outside formal structures are heard. This will provide an opportunity for community concerns to be heard and properly processed by municipalities, sector departments and state entities.
The Department has developed a system of tracking and ensuring meaningful progress on matters raised via community meetings held during OSS Cabinet days and War-room functionality monitoring. This is to fast-track intervention on matters directly related to the department and referrals to our social partners and relevant role players.
We are sad to report that the Department suffered a loss of no less than 7 Community Development Workers (CDWs) through both natural and unnatural causes. We continue to witness how devastating this loss is to the bereaved families. However, as Government we have also lost invaluable institutional memory as most of these officials started working for the Department around 2004 when the programme was conceptualised. This also further hampers the Department’s ability to contribute meaningfully towards OSS War Room functionality where CDWs play a secretariat role and produce reports on developmental matters at Ward level. CDWs work as a link between all spheres of government, communities and other stakeholders. We have always operated at less than the optimal capacity due to fiscal constraints, and losing more staff compounds this problem enormously. Once again, we convey heartfelt sympathies to the family members of the deceased CDWs.
In the current financial year, the department plans to increase the number of Community Development Workers by 50 (from 378 to 428). This commitment will contribute to decent job creation (Level 6) for 50 more youth from various Districts in the Province and will contribute towards keeping government closer to the people in order to fast-track access to services.
Municipal Service Delivery Support
Honourable Speaker, the Department’s flagship programme of monthly ONE-ON-ONE engagements with municipalities categorized as High Risk (Dysfunctional) is yielding results. We can report that eight (8) of the twelve (12) municipalities which were classified as High-Risk have registered improvements in critical KPAs and have moved to the Medium Risk category. This comes as a result of close monitoring and high-priority support provided to these municipalities, some of whom are under Section 139 intervention.
We commend these municipalities for showing consistent commitment to the implementation of their Municipal Support and Intervention Plans. It was encouraging to see them following advice from the Finance and Technical Experts that were deployed by the department. The improved municipalities prepared thoroughly for the monthly one-on-one engagements and provided monthly reports which point to the efforts made to steadily improve. It was encouraging to see cooperative governance in action. These engagements, for instance, drew attendance and support from other sector departments and entities with a focus on unblocking service delivery challenges on projects.
Municipal performance assessments were conducted in September 2022 and the outcomes provided a reduced number of municipalities at HIGH RISK from 12 to 4. Only 1 municipality regressed and moved from medium risk to high risk.
Overall Provincial IDP Credibility average increased from 74% in 2021 to 80% in 2022. The top achiever Municipality in the Province on IDP Credibility received a score of 96%, which is an improvement from the previous year’s top achievement of 88%.
The MEC Cluster Engagements with Municipal EXCOs and Senior Managers have become an important strategic forum where the MEC gets the opportunity to closely interact with the leadership on the performance of municipalities. In this clustered approach, the Department focused its attention on the state of local government, the AG action plans and the turn-around strategies to improve municipal finances, the institutionalisation of governance structures, such as MPACs and the performance on grants by municipalities.
These Clusters strengthened the objectives of the District Development Model (DDM) in bringing together all three spheres of government to enhance service delivery. Continually, we are making progress in eliminating the silo approach in planning and implementing projects and programmes by working as one government to deliver a better life for all our people.
Revitalised Masakhane campaign
During 22/23 financial year the Provincial Executive Council resolved to revitalise the Masakhane campaign and municipalities were encouraged to develop their own programmes focusing on Good governance, financial management systems, provision of basic services.
For the 23/24 financial year, we want to launch a war on illegal dumping, with the aim of converting dump sites into organic gardens for the communities.
Revised approach to Intervention in terms of Section 139 of the Constitution
Numerous action plans have been implemented to assist municipalities to move out of the interventions, however, previous plans have not produced the desired results. The Department has reviewed all previous plans and developed a Turnaround Plan, which aims to improve the key performance indicators in Municipalities under intervention in terms of Section 139 (1) (b) of the Constitution, 1996.
In the revised plan, the Department has set a number of measures to be implemented to effect a turnaround. These include the augmentation of capacity in the various fields using a mixture of external service providers and staff from other units across government departments. We are also planning to tighten consequence management on municipalities that fail to deliver on their responsibilities and this will not only be limited to officials, but also political structures that fail to execute their oversight functions effectively.
Ministerial Representatives will also be held against more stringent terms with their contracts being reviewed on a quarterly basis in accordance with their performance. They have been mandated to implement consequence management measures on municipalities who table unfunded budgets. It should be noted that during 22/23 financial year the number of municipalities with unfunded budgets was reduced from 15 to 9. The procurement plans are also to be implemented whilst also ensuring that contractual obligations are undertaken in line with the General Conditions of Contracts for Construction works. UIFW will also be an area of focus. Debt repayment plans are also to be concluded with Eskom as a matter of urgency for those municipalities who still have Eskom debt. Furthermore, the Department will establish an Intervention Task Team, consist of Cogta Business Unit, sector Departments, state- owned entities, National Treasury, DCOG as well as SALGA.
The responsible business units in the Provincial or National departments and state-owned enterprises will be expected to provide progress reports and early-warning signals on functional areas under their responsibilities in which municipalities could be underperforming.
Institutionalising the District Development Model (DDM)
Honourable Members, working with municipalities, we are accelerating the implementation of the District Development Model (DDM) to unlock bottlenecks in the delivery of services. We have made huge strides in developing and adopting the One-Plans for District Municipalities. Ten (10) of the eleven (11) One Plans were adopted by June 2022. Political instability at the Umkhanyakude District Municipality made it to be the only Municipality not to adopt its first-generation One-Plan by the Political Hub after the recommendation of the Technical Hub by the deadline of June 2022.
Since then, nine (9) Districts including the eThekwini Metro were supported to review their One Plans. All the reviewed plans have been adopted by the Political Hubs by the end of February 2023 except for Zululand District whose political hub is scheduled to adopt the one plan before of the end of April 2023. Umkhanyakude is also outstanding owing to the challenges in convening the Political Hub.
To strengthen the institutionalisation of the DDM approach, in 2023/2024, COGTA will dedicate at least one day a month for all the Hubs and Clusters to convene. We will also intensify capacity development initiatives for Councillors, Municipal officials, as well as sector departments. DCOG is finalising the framework for the institutionalisation of the DDM and this will assist all role players abide by the rules of the game.
DDM in action through the African Smart City on the Eastern Seaboard
Madame Speaker, the Eastern Seaboard Regional Spatial Development Framework is currently underway following the pronouncement to build new 'Smart Cities' by His Excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2020. As indicated last year, our Province together with the Eastern Cape are moving with speed to implement and realise the African Smart city on the Eastern Seaboard. Ugu and Harry Gwala Districts are participating in this exciting DDM project across two Provinces. The Eastern Seaboard area was declared as a Region by the Minister and Gazetted on 20 June 2022. In addition, a Conceptual Framework report for the development of Smart Cities in KZN has been developed.
Last month, the Minister of COGTA in partnership with the National School of Government, Basic and Higher Education and MISA launched the inaugural Eastern Seaboard Development (ESD) skills revolution at the Walter Sisulu University in Mthatha, Eastern Cape. MISA awarded 100 bursaries to students in various fields including Civil, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineering.
The Eastern Seaboard area covers an area of about 500km of the coastline from Port St John to Margate/Scottsburg, and includes 4 Districts and 17 municipalities across both Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. It aims to unlock key regional opportunities in agriculture, tourism, ICT, oceans economy and rural development with the special focus on youth, women and people living with disabilities as key beneficiaries.
KZN COGTA has collaborated with the EC Province and municipalities in Ugu and Harry Gwala to ensure that the aspirations of developing Smart Cities in this area is realized in our Province, in line with the Smart City Concept and Framework. High levels of inter-governmental co-ordination is being witnessed and improved in this process, as all 3 spheres of government as well as Traditional Authorities, and a wide range of other sectors, have been working together to build the concept and plans.
Research is being done on the potential of Renewable Energy resources like solar, wind (both land and offshore), hydro, biomass, and geothermal energy.
The study aims to assess the existing electrification and energy within Alfred Nzo, Ugu, Harry Gwala and OR Tambo District Municipalities in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces for electrification programme plans.
PROGRAMME THREE: DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING
Infrastructure Grants Management
Honourable Speaker, the Department monitors and supports municipalities on the implementation of infrastructure projects through MIG, WSIG and RBIG grants. As a result of such monitoring, twenty-five (25) KwaZulu-Natal municipalities received additional MIG funding in the 2021/2022 financial year, and the Province recorded the best expenditure performance nationally.
Noting the Province's priority of water provision, during the 2021/2022 Financial Year, five (5) Water Services Authorities (WSAs) received additional MIG funding. These are iLembe, Harry Gwala, uMzinyathi, uMgungundlovu, and Zululand. Four (4) received additional WSIG - uMgungundlovu, uThukela, uMhlathuze, and Harry Gwala and King Cetshwayo District Municipality received additional RBIG. Those that were a risk to KwaZulu-Natal in terms of grant expenditure, lost funding. They are uMkhanyakude for MIG, uMzinyathi and uMkhanyakude for WSIG and uThukela for RBIG.
Our Province adopted a Risk-Adjusted Approach with the implementation of these grants in the 2020/2021 financial year which seeks to mitigate risk through early planning across project planning, registration, procurement and implementation. In line with this approach, engagements were held with KZN municipalities in October 2022 (with the support of DCOG and MISA) in the Risk-Adjusted Red- Zone, in which Acceleration Plans were presented, analysed and critiqued. This is a risk-mitigation measure to prevent the loss of grant funding in the province.
KZN COGTA also encourages WSAs to consider a split of their MIG allocation which prioritizes water projects and the maintenance of existing infrastructure, in line with the allowable limits contained in the DORA. The Province is seeking to ensure that such provisions are taken into account when Municipalities plan for the 2023/2024 financial year.
We agree with the Premier that in the year ahead, KZN COGTA should play a greater oversight role address the failure of municipalities to spend their Municipal Infrastructure Grant. It is indeed a sad indictment that at present, KZN municipalities are reported to spending 53.75% of their MIG allocation, 40,4% WSIG and 30,6% RBIG. In response to the call made by the Premier for greater oversight and support, we want at least a 20% improvement in each of these grants in the 2023/2024 financial year.
It is concern to note that the following municipalities had their grants withdrawn while there are serious service delivery challenges:
• eThekwini, R322million
• uMhlathuze, R16million
• uMkhanyaku, R90milliion
• Harry Gwala, R10million
• uThukela, R40million
• Danhauser, R6,5Million
• Amajuba, R1,9million
• Big Five Hlabisa, R3,4million
• KwaDukuza, R20million’
• Ray Nkonyeni, R1,694million
• uMuziwabantu, R2,150million
• uMshwathi, R2million
• Alfred Duma, R1,5
• eNdumeni, R2,8
• uMovt, 1,3
• eDumbe, R1,5
• uPhongolo, R3,9million
• Ulundi, R4million
• Mthonjaneni, R1million
• Nkandla, R1,264million
• Greater Kokstad, R1,5million
• Umzimkhulu, R500 000
These grants are mainly for the provision of water, electricity and roads.
Expanding Electricity Provision
Honourable Members, with regards to the challenge of load-shedding, we welcome the message by the Premier in the State of the Province Address outlining steps being taken by the Province to mitigate the challenge and turn the situation around.
We are equally enthused by the clear indication that the Province will accelerate the rollout of electricity infrastructure. In this regard, the Premier announced that KwaZulu-Natal will, in 2023/2024 expand 2023/2024 electricity connections to 25 000 households through the INEP Grant from DMRE. The project has been allocated R784-million which will bring the electrification connection rate in KwaZulu-Natal to 93.89%.
Progress on the Electricity Master Plan
At present, the KZN Electricity Master Plan is under review to incorporate detailed findings by the DMRE Electricity Master Plan expected to be completed in April 2023.
Research indicates that a combined investment of R25,8bn is required in order to meet the current and anticipated electricity demands until 2031.
The overall project objective is to develop a Provincial Integrated Energy Master Plan that comprises of a long-term integrated plan (20-30 years.); The project is set to be delivered within 12 months utilising the energy war room expertise as an oversight structure.
Progress on Alternative Energy Initiatives
Honourable Members, as reported previously, eThekwini has embarked on the new policy direction to adequately reduce reliance from Eskom. This is the eThekwini Metro’s 400MW Generation Capacity Initiative.
By 2030, the eThekwini energy policy seeks to build 153 MW of wind energy, 470 MW of Solar PV, 8 MW of landfill gas, 11 MW of Hydropower and 5 MW from wastewater, as well as 500 MWh of grid scale storage capacity This new energy economy is expected to bring R 43 billion of investment into KwaZulu- Natal and create an estimated 6 500 sustainable jobs.
The eThekwini Metro has completed scenario planning, stakeholder consultation, public participation process and market testing through Request for Information.
Initiatives led by the DMRE include Solar Home Systems (Household PV Cell Technology) as well as the Energy Efficiency Demand Side Management Campaign, municipalities are encouraged to apply for this funding to implement programmes to reduce the demand on the Eskom Grid. Interventions ranging from retrofitting government building, solar street lights and traffic lights, installing generators as well as implementing battery storage projects should be promoted moving forward. This will ensure we secure adequate energy for critical water and sanitation infrastructure whose functionality is highly dependent of electricity.
Read more: 2023/2024 Budget Speech - Vote 11: COGTA
