‘A Moral and Political Failure’: Civics, parliamentarians and the Public Protector blast Enoch Mgijima Municipality

Two community-based organisations in Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality (EMLM) in the Eastern Cape have lambasted the state of the municipality calling it a moral and systemic political and ethical failure. The Independent Komani Residents’ Association (Ikora) and Komani Progress Action (KPA) were responding to submissions that the municipality made at a recent joint oversight visit by parliament to Port Edward last month. Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), and the Standing Committee on the Auditor General, as well as the Eastern Cape provincial legislature, have been engaging local, metro and district municipalities in the Eastern Cape on under-perfomance, poor audit outcomes and governance challenges.

State of Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality

Led by the executive mayor, speaker, municipal manager and the chief financial officer, the Enoch Mgijima delegation told the oversight committee that the municipality is R1.7-billion in debt, caused by Eskom and poor revenue collection. The delegation also told parliament that ward councillors and officials owe the municipality R3.3-million in unpaid municipal accounts. Out of eleven refuse trucks, servicing 29,535 households, only four are operational and that there are only two graders to maintain gravel roads.

The municipality previously earned the Public Protector’s censure for overseeing an irregular tender process for the construction of the R22-million Lesseyton sports field. Instead of implementing the remedial action called for by the PP, the municipality tried to block the report by lodging an interdict in the Bisho High Court on the basis that they were not consulted.

Bulhoek Massacre memorial site in Ntabelanga village where 163 congregants of the Church of God and Saints of Christ, led by lay preacher and visionary, Enoch Mgijima, were killed and buried in 1921. Photo by Mzi Velapi

R1.7-billion debt to Eskom

Ikora described the debt to Eskom as “a symptom of a broken system, poor governance, corruption, patronage [and a] lack of accountability” and that it is not just a financial scandal but a “moral and systemic political failure”. The organisation said that the municipality is failing to deliver services and the levels of debt and poor revenue collection “confirm that this municipality is in autopilot mode”.

Ikora was established in 2020 when members of the Komani community stood in solidarity with Truda Foods workers.

For its part, Komani Progress Action which was one of the key organisers of the two-day shutdown of Komani in January 2023, said that “revenue collection has collapsed because the administration operates without transparent billing, or basic service delivery”. The KPA suggests the financial matters of the municipality should be checked by an independent forensic audit and community oversight committees.

Ward councillors and officials owe R3.3-million in unpaid municipal accounts

Ward councillors have to register their addresses with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and according to the municipality, the ward councillors therefore claim that the houses do not belong to them and they cannot be responsible for the municipal bills of the properties.

“If ward councillors and municipal officials can owe R3.3-million in unpaid rates, it shows a breakdown in financial discipline and accountability. These are public representatives who are supposed to set an example, not exploit their positions. This reflects poor internal controls in revenue collection and enforcement which emanates from incompetence and patronage,” said Ikora.

The KPA has called for the automatic suspension of any IEC benefits to the municipality’s ward councillors in arrears.

Four refuse trucks and two graders

The Enoch Mgijima Municipality was established in 2016 after the amalgamation of the Lukhanji, Inkwanca, and Tsolwana municipalities and is home to 297,055 people according to Census 2022. The four operational refuse trucks are meant to service 29,535 households from Komani, Whittlesea, Tarkastad, Molteno and Sterkstroom. Communities in the villages of Hewu, Ntabethemba, Lady Frere and in townships all rely on two graders to fix and maintain gravel roads.

“This is not just poor service delivery – it’s a denial of basic mobility and the dignity of the people is compromised in a big way,” said Ikora.

To address the mounting problem of waste in the municipality, the KPA has called for a “community-refuse partnership model” where small businesses and cooperatives involved in waste management are contracted to clean wards.

Lesseyton stadium and PP remedial action

The Lesseyton sports field made headlines in October 2021 after the municipality posted pictures on their Facebook page stating that the ground – with a patchy field, broken goalposts and two steel grandstands – cost R15-million to build. Comments started flooding in with people calling the municipality and the ANC a disgrace.

At the launch of the Lesseyton sports field. Photo from EMLM Facebook page

The Public Protector investigated the case after complaints of procurement irregularities were raised at the provincial level. In June this year, Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka released a report finding that there was mismanagement in the construction of the R22.7-million facility. The municipality’s legal action against the report was described by Ikora as further misuse of funds intended for service delivery.

Response of oversight committee to EMLM

Following the meeting with the Enoch Mgijima Municipality, the oversight committee grilled the EMLM speaker over the decision to exceed the gazetted R750,000 limit and spend R1.2-million to purchase a BMW X3 for mayor Madoda Papiyana. The committee requested that the Eastern Cape MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs submit a detailed report within 14 days and investigate the process followed to purchase the vehicle.

The municipality was directed to investigate all allegations of expenditure and procurement irregularities. Committee member, Dikeledi Direko warned that any public funds misused must be recovered, and those responsible must be held to account.

Another concern was the municipality’s reliance on consultants. “The municipality cannot outsource its responsibilities indefinitely,” said Direko. She cautioned that the overuse of consultants places a huge strain on public funds. The municipality was directed to present an action plan for skills transfer and indicate how it will take ownership of its governance systems.