The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs received a briefing yesterday, in a virtual meeting, from the leader of Knysna Unite, Reverend Ralph Stander, on a petition that calls for a forensic investigation into the allegations of corruption and maladministration against the Knysna Local Municipality.
 
Mr Stander told the committee that there is an installation of approximately 4000 prepaid water meters project in the black areas which was not budgeted for. Furthermore, Mr Stander said there was no official tender for the project and, according to him, that was what prompted Knysna Unite to call for a forensic investigation into the allegations.
 
The newly installed Mayor of the Knysna Municipality, Mr Elrick van Aswegen, who refuted the petition, said a total of R32 million was spent on the installation and purchase of 7500 prepaid meters of which 6995 was received by the municipality. He said 5000 of those meters have been activated in nine out of the 11 municipal wards.
 
The committee also heard that the municipality experienced political and administrative crisis between January 2018 to May 2020. Mr van Aswegen said the position of the Municipal Manager was filled on acting basis during that period and there was serious instability in the municipality as a result of that. 
 
He said the municipality used funds from its investments to pay its staff and is faced with service delivery challenges largely due to the lack of human and financial resources. He also said the Municipal Public Accounts Committee fails to hold the municipal management accountable for the poor management of the financial resources of the municipality.
 
The Chairperson of the committee, Ms Faith Muthambi, has requested the Western Cape Government’s Department of Local Government to share its findings on the 2018 Diagnostic Assessment Report on Knysna Municipality with the committee.
 
Ms Muthambi urged the department to institute the forensic investigations into the allegations and fast-track those investigations. Furthermore, she said there must be effective monitoring and evaluation mechanism in place to address the municipality’s problem of maladministration and poor performance.
 
The committee has noted the commitment that was made by the department in the meeting to support the municipality in its turn around financial recovery plan. It told the municipality to come back and report to the committee in the next quarter, the consequence management steps it has taken on those who are responsible for the mess that the municipality finds itself in.
 
The committee has also asked Knysna Unite to respond in writing on the allegations of corruption that were levelled against it by the municipality within 10 working days for the Committee to finalise its report.

Issued by The Chairperson of The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance And Traditional Affairs, Faith Muthambi