By Anita Dangazele
- Officials from OR Tambo District Municipality and Buffalo City Metro appeared before two parliamentary committees to answer for audit findings.
- Both municipalities failed to follow supply chain rules, manage contracts properly or collect payment within 30 days, the committees found.
OR Tambo District Municipality and Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality faced hard questions from two parliamentary committees this week.
Officials from both municipalities appeared before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) and the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA). The committees wanted answers about findings by the Auditor General and investigations by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).
SCOPA chairperson Songezo Zibi said both municipalities had serious problems. Officials repeatedly failed to follow supply chain rules, raising concerns about whether contracts were awarded fairly.
Contract management was also weak across several projects. Some suppliers did not deliver on their contracts. Others abandoned project sites. Zibi said little or no action was taken against them.
Some projects also fell behind because consultants or contractors failed to do their jobs, but payments continued.
Zibi said political and administrative leaders also failed to act against wrongdoing. The SIU had referred several cases for disciplinary and criminal action in both municipalities, but many had still not been finalised after years.
In Buffalo City, disciplinary cases linked to procurement problems had dragged on without resolution. In OR Tambo, the committees were concerned the municipal manager did not seem willing to fully accept the outcomes of SIU investigations.
Both municipalities also struggled to collect money owed to them. They are required to collect payment within 30 days but often take more than six months. This strains cash flow because suppliers must still be paid within 30 days.
Zibi said some issues may need further investigation by other state agencies.
The committees will prepare a report based on their March 2025 oversight visit and this week’s meetings. It will go to the National Assembly with recommendations on accountability and service delivery.
Pictured above: Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) chairperson Songezo Zibi.
Image source: Parliament of RSA/X
