A tale of two Gauteng municipalities — Midvaal’s clean audit triumph vs Emfuleni’s persistent woes

Midvaal is Gauteng’s best-performing municipality. Its track record includes having no outstanding debt to Eskom, a feat which not many municipalities have been able to achieve. 

In stark contrast, Emfuleni, just under 50km from Midvaal, continues to be one of the poorest-performing municipalities in the province. Recently, the National Treasury gave it an ultimatum after its bank accounts were attached by Eskom over its R8.7-billion debt: shape up or face intervention.   

Midvaal

Midvaal was one of 34 municipalities nationwide to receive a clean audit outcome and the only municipality in Gauteng to obtain a clean audit in the local government audit outcomes for the 2022/23 financial year.

“We commend Midvaal Local Municipality for sustaining its clean audit for 10 consecutive years,” Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke noted in her report. 

Read more: Municipal audit results continue to decline — irregular, wasteful expenditure balloons to R7.4bn

Maluleke remarked that municipalities such as Midvaal which had received clean audits over several years, were generally characterised by sound financial and performance management.

Meyerton, in the Midvaal Local Municipality, is a clean town with no litter, no land invasions, no potholes and well-marked roads. Municipal officials and residents take pride in keeping the area tidy.

The town has a population of about 112,000 and is semi-rural, with many plots of two to three hectares.

Municipal amenities such as sports fields, parks and a swimming pool are well maintained and service delivery takes place.

Midvaal resident Santie Dubber attributes the clean audit outcome to the improvement in their living conditions and commends the local government for its efficient service delivery. (Photo: Nonkululeko Njilo)

One resident, Santie Dubber, who was born and bred in the area, sang the praises of the DA-led municipality, saying she would never move anywhere else. Dubber has not experienced power or water cuts in more than a year and feels safe in her community, while her trash is collected two or three times a week.  

“The municipality is really working for us; when you call and complain about something like a burst pipe, trash or anything, it will be fixed or repaired in a few hours, even if it’s the weekend.

“We are very happy residents, we have got no complaints,” said Dubber. 

Another resident, Katherine van de Merwe, who moved into the area six months ago, voiced a similar sentiment.

“At first I was shocked that everything was fine, but it is. Trash is even collected at night,” she said.

‘We just need houses’

However, in the Sicelo informal settlement, on the western edge of Meyerton, the picture is somewhat different. Residents live in shacks with no access to flushing toilets and refuse is strewn on open land.

Despite this, one resident, Selena Mofokeng, who survives on her old age pension, said: “The government is working for us. We don’t have a lot of issues here in Midvaal. We have water, electricity and there is no crime. We just need houses.”

Midvaal Executive Mayor Peter Teixeira, who was elected after the 2021 local government elections, said: “I inherited a culture of good governance, a culture that speaks to accountability, consequence management, one that has filtered down from the top to all the municipal officials of the municipality.

“So, it’s a culture that everybody understands … and appreciates. And I think for me, that is what sets us apart from many other municipalities.”

Teixeira said the municipality practised a strict policy of cost containment. To illustrate this, he opened his office fridge, which contained only water. 

“Every single cent of taxpayers’ money goes towards service delivery or where it’s meant to go; we do not compromise,” he said.   

With a total budget of R12-billion, Midvaal allocates 12% to maintenance and repairs, surpassing the National Treasury’s recommended 8%.

“There is strong political will to serve the community,” said Teixeira. “The political will is there, and this is something that I’m really proud of as a mayor, because this has rubbed off even to the opposition political parties who understand why they occupy the positions they are occupying, which is to serve the people.”  

Emfuleni  

In the Emfuleni Local Municipality, sewage runs down the potholed roads and refuse lies uncollected on street corners.  

The municipality, which encompasses Evaton, Sebokeng, Sharpeville, Boipatong, Bophelong and Tshepiso, has a population of nearly one million. It is one of the poorest-performing municipalities in Gauteng, as can be seen in Good Governance Africa’s Governance Performance Index.

Residents have been crying foul over service delivery. An RDP homeowner in Bophelong township, Magdalene Khumalo, said: “We are used to no service delivery now. Lights can go off at any moment; even now there is no water, but I stay here because I have nowhere else to go.”

Khumalo said she too was guilty of illegal dumping: “The municipality is not doing its job and I don’t have money to pay people to collect it so I just join everyone else.” 

On the stench caused by the rubbish, Khumalo said, “We are used to it now.” 

She said she had not voted because the “same people” stayed in power.

Read more: Sewage and illegal dumping just the tip of the iceberg in bankrupt Emfuleni

Last week, four of the ANC-led municipality’s bank accounts were attached by Eskom in a bid to recoup more than R8.7-billion.  

Eskom said the municipality had failed to comply with the requirements of the National Treasury’s debt relief programme.

“The attachment of the bank accounts allows Eskom to receive payment for the electricity it supplies, ensuring continued service to the municipality’s customers. Eskom has exhausted all legal and mediation avenues to secure payment for services rendered since 2018,” said the power utility.

In March and November 2023, the municipality’s bank accounts were attached by Rand Water for the non-payment of debt.  

As of April, its debt stood at R10.1-billion – R8-billion was owed to Eskom and nearly R2-billion to Rand Water.

Following the indefinite attachment of the bank accounts, which will have dire consequences and possibly affect the payment of salaries, the municipality embarked on a major drive to recoup money owed to it and is disconnecting the electricity of non-paying businesses and residents.

‘Not a punishment’

The municipality’s finance MMC, Hassan Mako, told a local news publication, Ster South: “It is time to pay up or stay in the dark. This is not a punishment for our residents; however, the municipality cannot survive.”

Emfuleni manager Jason Mkhwane said the ANC was actively working towards enhancing service delivery in the municipality and called on municipal officials to do the work they were paid to do.

“We are committed to increasing our workforce in both operational and strategic roles. Importantly, municipal officials must work diligently for their remuneration, and the community must contribute by paying for services. This is imperative for improving performance and delivering essential services,” he said.

The DA’s Kingsol Chabalala said the leadership of Emfuleni had failed dismally to turn the situation around.  

“They don’t have the political will. Should they have the political will we should be seeing changes in the financial management of the municipality’s finances. For the longest time this municipality has been struggling financially despite some interventions that have been made,” said Chabalala. 

In 2018, the then Gauteng premier David Makhura placed Emfuleni under administration for six months due to allegations of maladministration and its failure to provide adequate services.   

Now, six years later, the municipality is still floundering.

Chabalala said: “This municipality needs rescue, which couldn’t happen under the current government, which has brought this municipality to its knees.

“There is no accountability and consequence management, as municipality money is spent on issues that don’t benefit the residents, such as overtime on employees, yet there is nothing to show for the work that they have done. Money is spent on labour disputes and paying salaries to people who are sitting at home.” 

In addition to the municipality’s financial woes, last July the Gauteng High Court ordered several government ministers and the Gauteng premier to stop sewage from Emfuleni’s collapsed wastewater treatment system flowing into the Vaal River and its tributaries.

No ‘meaningful change’

In her report, the Auditor-General said there had been no “meaningful change” in many of SA’s municipalities.

“Action has been too slow with little impact on the lived realities of ordinary South Africans,” said Maluleke.  

She noted that audit outcomes of metros had worsened since the last year of the previous administration, despite metros having greater capacity and bigger budgets to attract competent professionals to improve their outcomes.   

None of the three Gauteng metros received a clean audit outcome.

• Ekurhuleni regressed from a clean audit to an unqualified audit opinion with findings due to lapsed procurement and contract management controls;


• Johannesburg retained last year’s outcome of an unqualified audit opinion with findings; and


• Tshwane improved its outcome from an adverse audit opinion to a qualified opinion by taking steps to implement audit recommendations.

“Metros’ financial health remains concerning as they struggled to improve their revenue-collection levels despite implementing financial recovery plans and turnaround strategies.

“Infrastructure delivery and maintenance still do not receive enough attention, as can be seen in projects being delayed, grant funding having to be returned to the National Treasury and a lack of consequences for poor performance,” said Maluleke. DM