By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI

28 August 2025 – A joint oversight delegation comprising the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, and the Standing Committee on the Auditor-General will address the challenges of underperforming municipalities in the North West next week.

This follows a similar joint oversight exercise in the Free State, where the delegation engaged with the 23 municipalities in the province. Since then, several interventions have been implemented in some municipalities.

The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on COGTA, Dr Zweli Mkhize said from 1 to 3 September 2025, the joint delegation will work with the North West Provincial Legislature (NWPL) to engage with the municipalities in the province. Mkhize said this oversight visit is part of a broader engagement with underperforming municipalities across provinces.

“It comes amid growing concerns over significant challenges in municipal governance and financial management, as highlighted by the Office of the Auditor-General in the municipal audit outcomes for the 2023/24 financial year.

“The audit outcomes show that the municipalities in the North West are burdened by debt, repeatedly tabling unfunded budgets and often fail to investigate billions of rand in irregular expenditure,” he said.

Mkhize further said service delivery has deteriorated in several areas, with some municipalities, such as Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality, failing to meet basic infrastructure targets despite allocated budgets. He added that others, including Ditsobotla and Ratlou Local Municipalities, continue to receive disclaimers year after year, while allegations of fraud, political interference and mismanagement affect municipal councils such as Tswaing Local Municipality.

“Over the course of three days, Members of Parliament (MPs) and their provincial counterparts will meet with all 23 municipalities in the province and engage with mayors, speakers of councils, municipal managers, and chief financial officers.

“The provincial government will also brief the delegation, including the North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi, North West MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Oageng Molapisi, and North West MEC for Finance, Kenetswe Mosenogi, who will provide updates on measures taken to support and stabilise municipalities in line with their constitutional responsibilities,” said Mkhize.

He said the oversight visit aims to enforce accountability and consequence management, as well as to require municipalities to explain why billions of rand allocated for water, electricity and other services have been misused or lost. Mkhize said it is also aimed at ensuring that political office bearers and accounting officers are held accountable for persistent failures.

“By piloting this collaborative model of joint oversight, Parliament aims to send a clear message that municipalities cannot continue to disregard the law and neglect communities without consequence, while also ensuring that they are supported through the intergovernmental relations framework to fulfil their constitutional obligations.

“Following North West, the delegation will move to Gauteng to continue oversight of municipalities in that province from 4 to 5 September,” he said.

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