A coalition of 35 civil society organisations (CSOs) in South Africa has urged government to improve service delivery in local government areas (LGAs).

The CSOs, including Afesis-corplan, Alliance for Rural Democracy, the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation and Blacksash, said many of the issues faced by local governments were critical in ensuring that citizens thrive.

Development Diaries learnt that the crisis facing local municipalities is dire and has been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘Over the three years, R4.27bn of government expenditure was fruitless and wasteful. In total, 91 percent of the municipalities did not comply with legislation’, Auditor General Kimi Makwetu said in a report released in July.

The report showed that fruitless and wasteful expenditure had amounted to R32 billion.

‘The outcome is similar to the previous year and slightly higher than the 85 percent in 2016/17’.

CSOs called on the government to make use of the broad outreach that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have within communities to solve some of the issues faced by municipalities.

‘We have come to say we are here and work in this space and have been thinking about game-changing issues needed to change the space’, Executive Director of Afesis-Complain, Nontando Ngamlana, said.

‘We are saying the transformation of South Africa depends on transforming local government. We cannot sit by and not do anything as civil society’.

Some of the key areas that need to be transformed, according to the CSOs, include the strengthening of oversight through municipal public account committees and audit and risk committees which should be staffed with skilled persons who can better scrutinise the numbers.

Another key area, the CSOs said, is ensuring that municipalities are staffed with qualified individuals and not through cadre deployment.

Source: IOL

Photo source: Brent Newhall