The embattled Merafong Local Municipality, which has been singled out for various service delivery, governance, and financial challenges, has unveiled a comprehensive 10-point plan to reverse the rot within its ranks.

On Tuesday, just days after the municipality delivered its State of the City Address by its Executive Mayor, Nozuko Best, who outlined her plans to turn the city around, she indicated that it has met with the Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s CoGTA Committee regarding the financial viability and governance of the municipality.

Best revealed that her team values the committee’s oversight role and welcomes this engagement as part of strengthening accountability and service delivery.

“On 12 August 2025, the municipality and Gauteng CoGTA, led by MEC Jacob Mamabolo and Executive Mayor Cllr Nozuko Best, agreed on a comprehensive 10-point turnaround strategy to address service delivery challenges and stabilise municipal finances,” she said.

The 10-point plan includes water security measures, rollout of smart meters, and the rehabilitation of sinkhole-prone areas, as well as improved audit outcomes and financial governance.

Best revealed that the municipality has also secured over R50 million to repay Rand Water, resulting in the restoration of at least 80% of the affected water supply.

“On electricity, major repairs and commissioning of transformers are under way, with progress already recorded in Khutsong and Welverdiend. On audit outcomes and financial performance, the municipality has made measurable improvements in its financial governance.

“From two consecutive disclaimers and one adverse audit opinion, Merafong progressed to a qualified audit opinion in 2023/24, reflecting stronger accountability and governance,” she said.

Early this month, the municipality was declared a disaster area due to the growing threat of sinkholes.

This was announced in the Government Gazette of August 4 by the Gauteng Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), aimed at unlocking resources for safety measures and urgent infrastructure repairs.

Dr Elias Sithole, head of the National Disaster Management Centre, said this declaration stems from an updated report from the Council for Geoscience, which revealed that sinkholes compromise the safety of residents, property, infrastructure, and basic services in some of these high-risk zones.

Best further stated that the filling of critical finance positions and the promotion of National Treasury-trained interns have improved the institutional capacity of her municipality, adding that these improvements have received widespread support from the provincial government.

“These improvements have been recognised by the Gauteng MEC for Finance and by SALGA, which awarded Merafong for progress in addressing historic audit findings. The municipality wishes to correct the record on its audit performance. For the 2023/2024 Audit and Management Report, the municipality achieved 73%, a significant improvement from 62% in the previous year, and not the 34% as incorrectly stated in the CoGTA report,” she added.

The latest development comes after the municipality also announced the appointment of a deputy CFO, with the mayor saying the appointment was made to strengthen financial management capacity following an “open, competitive process”.

“This process complies with the Municipal Systems Act and staff regulations. The Auditor-General of South Africa has made no finding of illegality or irregularity on this matter in the 2023/24 audit and management report. Since the appointment, the deputy CFO has been instrumental in stabilising the finance department, implementing corrective audit plans, and strengthening audit outcomes,” Best added.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za

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