EThekwini Municipality’s Executive Committee held its ordinary meeting today, 23 February 2021. The meeting was chaired by the Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda and attended by members of the Executive Committee.

 

Kaunda confirmed the resignation of Deputy Mayor, Cllr Belinda Scott, effective at the end of February. Kaunda said that during the deployment of Cllr Belinda Scott to eThekwini Municipality she had informed us of her plans to pursue her PHD studies and a career in the private sector and it is for this reason that we have accepted her resignation.

 

Kaunda added that as a dedicated cadre of the movement, the city will continue to tap into her fountain of knowledge in an effort to deliver much-needed services to the public.

 

He expressed his gratitude for the dedication of Cllr Scott to the municipality and her achievements whilst serving in her role of Deputy Mayor. Cllr Scott was commended for her leadership of the Finance and Re-prioritisation Committees and the interventions for the homeless which received recognition by the United Nations.

 

 

The Mayor congratulated the matric class of 2020, together with the national and provincial Departments of Education for their efforts towards ensuring that the class of 2020 successfully sat for exams despite the challenges posed by the global pandemic.

 

“The Municipality has already set our plans in motion to assist academically deserving students who hail from struggling families, to further their studies. We have also activated our annual programme to provide bursaries to students in areas that have been identified as scarce and critical skills in the country,” he added.

Speaking on the release of the crime statistics which again identified several areas in the City as crime hot spots for sexual offences, murder, robbery and carjacking, the Mayor said,

 

“Our major concern is that Inanda and Umlazi have, for the second time in a row, recorded the highest incidents of rape in the country.”

“This calls on all of us to intensify the plans we have put in place to fight the scourge of crime. We must strengthen our collaboration with community crime fighting structures by building trust between police and residents,” said Kaunda.

 

 

A comprehensive report on the Covid-19 expenditure was tabled by the Chair of the Audit Committee, Nala Mhlongo. The report submitted included management responses and action plans to rectify controls and deficiencies for review.

 

The final audit indicates that a total of R456 583 170 million was spent during the lockdown period with a potential R75 043 505 million in irregular expenditure and R11 150 812 million in potential financial loss. The items identified under potential irregular spend and financial loss have been handed to the City’s Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU) for further investigations.

 

Speaking on the report, Mhlongo indicated that the observations of the audit reflect that the implementation of the internal control system regarding procurement during the Covid-19 pandemic requires improvement, to provide reasonable assurance that the strategic and operational goals and objectives of management are achieved.

 

He said that whilst it was emergency procurement, basic Internal Controls were not adhered to, such as the document management process. Concerns were also raised on the delays that were experienced by the Internal Audit team in obtaining requested information, and responses to findings which were only provided after a long period of time, despite ongoing requests.

 

Commenting on the report, Mayor Kaunda emphasized the strengthening of internal control measures and that consequence management will be implemented based on the outcomes of the CIIU investigations with the possibility of criminal charges.

 

He urged CIIU to expedite the investigations into the matters raised and requested a feedback report by the end of March.

All the items and documents related to the Covid-19 expenditure have also been submitted for further investigation to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU).

 

ENDS

 

Issued by the eThekwini Municipality’s Communications Unit. For media enquiries contact the Municipality’s Spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela on 060 966 4220.