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AfriForum has submitted a Promotion of Access to Information (PAIA) application to the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) to obtain records relating to the appointment, oversight, and accountability of senior municipal officials.

Municipalities across the country are in a disastrous state. Eskom debt continues to spiral, audit outcomes remain poor, critical infrastructure is collapsing, and debt relief programs have largely failed to restore municipalities to financial sustainability. 

Despite repeated bailouts, the appointment of administrators, and numerous opportunities to turn failing municipalities around, many continue to deteriorate. The appointment of politically connected individuals in key administrative positions also remains a factor in this deterioration.

“Instead of ensuring that municipalities are managed by suitably qualified and competent professionals, officials with questionable track records often appear to move from one municipality to another without meaningful accountability,” says Deidré Steffens, AfriForum’s advisor for Local Government Affairs 

AfriForum is requesting records relating to dismissed municipal officials, disciplinary proceedings, unlawful appointments, competency assessments, exemptions from qualification requirements, financial misconduct investigations, interventions in failing municipalities, compliance with the Municipal Debt Relief Programme, and referrals of municipal corruption and maladministration to law enforcement agencies.

“Citizens deserve to know whether officials responsible for poor governance are being held accountable or simply being recycled through the local government system. They also deserve transparency on whether appointment processes are being properly monitored and whether intervention measures are producing any meaningful results,” concludes Steffens.

The information requested will help establish whether existing oversight mechanisms are functioning effectively and identify systemic failures that continue to contribute to the collapse of municipalities across the country.

Issued by AfriForum