The ANC-led City of Ekurhuleni has received a qualified audit opinion for the 2024/25 financial year by the Auditor General (AG) reaffirming what residents in the City know, that life under the ANC is getting worse.
A qualified audit opinion means that the AG has found several flaws in the way the City’s finances are managed along with the manner in which a government implements its plans.
Chief among the findings against this ANC-led coalition, which at the time included the EFF, were as follows:
• 6 km of roads planned but only 1.06km built
• 20 stormwater systems planned but only 9 completed
• Service response times for water & sanitation had a target of 85% but only achieved 43%-53%
While residents and businesses cannot purchase electricity, log outages or get through to the call centre, the City incurred R41 million in irregular expenditure on ICT caused by procurement violations.
Instead of systems designed to improve service delivery and modernise the City, R41 million has gone down the tubes.
Of major concern is the financial cost associated with water and electricity losses.
In parts of the City, Bedfordview, Duduza, Germiston, Etwatwa, residents sit for days on end without regular and reliable water supply, yet the City lost R1.03 billion worth of revenue due to water leaks.
Similarly, Eskom recently threatened to cut supply to the City due to its R3.4 billion debt, yet in the 2024/25 financial year, R3.07 billion or 15.5% of the City’s total purchase from the utility was lost.
R2.2 billion of this was due to theft, illegal connections, and meter tampering.
Another issue flagged by the AG was the Ekurhuleni Fresh Produce Market which built at a cost of R39.8 million and has never been used for its intended purpose.
It is evident that not only have the ANC and EFF collapsed service delivery, emptied the City’s coffers, but they have reduced Ekurhuleni to a barren wasteland.
In the upcoming Local Government Elections, residents will be afforded the opportunity to elect a DA government that will exercise prudent financial management, restore service delivery, and resuscitate the economic fortunes of the workshop of Gauteng.