‘No Superman in the Treasury’: Zibi Blames Poor Management, Corruption for Municipal Collapse

The chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), Songezo Zibi, has delivered a blunt message: the Finance Minister is not a superman, and the National Treasury cannot be everywhere at once.

Speaking during Parliament’s Finance Cluster Committee on Monday, Zibi addressed the role of the committee on fiscal expenditure, including infrastructure spending and cost reductions.

The Context

His remarks follow Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s warning that municipalities must return to the “foundational principle of fiscal integrity”where revenue collected for a specific service is first used to sustain and maintain that service.

Godongwana warned that diverting funds away from core trading services such as water and electricity risks long-term system failures. Maintenance backlogs grow, services deteriorate, and critical infrastructure eventually collapses.

The Joburg Example

Godongwana singled out Johannesburg’s water finances as a stark example.

The city generates R11.9 billion in water revenue, yet only R1.3 billion is allocated to Joburg Water for capital expenditure.

“This has contributed to the massive backlog of R64 billion that is needed to fix water supply problems in the city,” Godongwana said.

If the City of Johannesburg does not turn things around, the National Treasury will be forced to intervene. The national government “cannot be a spectator” as the metro’s infrastructure deteriorates.

Zibi’s Response

Zibi pushed back against the expectation that the Finance Minister can ensure fiscal responsibility across hundreds of government authorities.

“Neither the finance minister nor the officials of the Treasury are an omnipresence that watches administrative and policy decisions, like a hawk, to ensure that public funds are allocated and used efficiently. There’s simply not enough of them to do that.”

He stressed that the constitutional scheme places responsibility on every public institution and every public official to ensure South Africans get the best value for their taxes.

The Losses

“Too much of the funds allocated by the finance minister for social and economic development are lost to ill-considered policy and administrative decisions, poor financial management and corruption.”

When this happens, the president’s and minister’s policy statements cannot be fulfilled.

“Projects end up costing more because of poor project management on the ground and poor contract management. It is not uncommon for contractors to be allowed to miss critical deadlines, and in some cases, eventually be evicted after getting paid. But there is no consequent attempt to recover the funds.”

That puts Treasury in an impossible positionhaving to find more funds for the same projects, sometimes to suffer recurrence.

The Solution

Zibi said that given the prevalence of mismanagement and criminality, Parliament, provincial, and municipal public accounts committees must work closely with the Auditor-General to safeguard funds.

“When we listen to the finance minister speaking, and we ask ourselves, what is the finance minister going to do? The finance minister is not a superman or superwoman, depending on the gender of the finance minister at the time. They can’t be everywhere.”

If municipalities aren’t performing, the economy can’t grow.

“So much of this is caused by the employment of unsuitable people to critical management and executive positions.”

Zibi called for more than just hunting for ghost workers. “What we additionally need is a skills review and audit, to be prepared to redeploy, or eject people who are either non-performing or under-qualified, for the work that they do.”

The Bottom Line

The message from Parliament’s top watchdog is clear: Treasury can’t fix municipalities. Municipalities must fix themselves.

Until they dountil fiscal integrity is restored, project management improves, and the right people are in the right jobsthe R64 billion backlogs and collapsing infrastructure will only get worse.

{Source: IOL}

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