AG Sounds Alarm on Governance Chaos in uMkhanyakude

Auditor-General steps in as dysfunctional northern KZN municipality spirals deeper into crisis

A community trapped in a loop of neglect

The people of uMkhanyakude, a vast but underdeveloped district in northern KwaZulu-Natal, are no strangers to dysfunctional governance. But the situation reached a boiling point this week when Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke formally instructed MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi to intervene again.

Years of financial mismanagement, ignored credit policies, and political turf wars have left this municipality limping. Basic services hang by a thread, and officials are once again in the spotlight for failing to fix long-flagged issues. Now, the national watchdog has had enough.

Why the AG got involved

The AGSA’s involvement isn’t symbolic, it’s serious. Maluleke’s office flagged uMkhanyakude’s prolonged failure to implement a credit and debt collection policy as a material irregularity under the Public Audit Act. In plain terms: the municipality isn’t collecting money it’s owed and is risking massive financial losses, all while residents deal with interrupted water supply and crumbling infrastructure.

The AGSA said the municipality’s leadership failed to take action for years. This isn’t just bad governance—it’s a breach of fiduciary duty. As a result, the AGSA’s internal committee formally included the irregularity in the municipality’s audit report, triggering the demand for swift intervention.

Deadline to clean up or face consequences

MEC Buthelezi now has until August 15 to report back with a plan of action. His department has said he’ll comply, but residents are growing weary. This isn’t the first time the province has stepped in and each time, promises were made, yet little changed.

What makes this intervention different is the AG’s direct call for action. It adds legal and political weight to the MEC’s earlier, much-contested attempts to wrest back control.

Drama at the gates: MEC locked out, democracy under fire

Just weeks ago, on July 14, Buthelezi was literally locked out of the uMkhanyakude municipal offices. Forced to hold a press briefing outside, he announced the district would be placed under administration again, under Section 139(1)(b) of the Constitution. He also introduced Bamba Ndwandwe as the new administrator and launched a Section 106 forensic probe into alleged corruption.

Municipal leadership, however, pushed back hard. Speaker T.S. Mkhombo accused the MEC of bulldozing local democracy, arguing that the municipality had made strides since the end of the last intervention in April. Mkhombo even threatened legal action, suggesting Buthelezi had not consulted council and was undermining elected representatives.

But who’s really failing the people?

The municipality’s defiance may win political points, but it doesn’t change the facts: the AG has now confirmed deep financial lapses, and residents are paying the price. Service delivery is nearly non-existent in many rural parts of the district, and repeated governance failures have eroded public trust.

On social media, locals reacted with frustration. “We’ve been without water for three months in parts of Jozini. But they fight over who sits in the chair?” wrote one resident on Facebook. Another user posted: “Why does it take the AG to tell them what we’ve been screaming for years?”

A pattern of dysfunction

uMkhanyakude isn’t new to national headlines. The district has repeatedly appeared in reports on underperforming municipalities. In 2021, Parliament’s Select Committee on Cooperative Governance called it one of the worst-run in the province. Since then, interventions have come and gone, but accountability remains elusive.

What happens next?

The AG’s move gives the MEC renewed legal footing. Whether this finally shifts the power dynamics remains to be seen. Cogta says Buthelezi is fully committed to acting in the interest of residents, acknowledging that “failed service delivery is the result of a lack of governance, financial and consequence management.”

With just weeks until the deadline, eyes will now turn to Buthelezi’s response. Will this finally break the cycle or will the people of uMkhanyakude be left to endure another chapter of promises without progress?

Until then, the taps remain dry, and hope is wearing thin.

{Source: IOL}

Follow Joburg ETC on Facebook, Twitter , TikTok and Instagram

For more News in Johannesburg, visit joburgetc.com