The financial state of the Msunduzi Municipality has come into sharp focus amid concerns that it is not improving despite several efforts by the municipality’s leadership.

The municipality met with officials from the national and provincial treasury on November 24. Among the key points of discussion was the financial state of the municipality, which is said to have raised concerns among the treasury officials. The municipality pushed back against claims that it was not improving, stating that it is on an upward trajectory.

For the past few years, Msunduzi has been under a voluntary financial recovery plan (FRP) to address some of its challenges. However, documents from the meeting seen by The Mercury show that the voluntary plan has not met expectations.

The Mercury has seen part of the report that was presented during the meeting; it tracks the progress made by the municipality to date.

Among what it highlights is that in 2021, the municipality was identified by the treasury as being in crisis.

For 2025, it stated that “failure (to address financial challenges) persists, further request for a revision of the voluntary FRPs.”

The report states that the municipality is facing a financial crisis and has been for some time, noting that the current setup, where the municipality is under a voluntary financial recovery plan, might not be enough.

“The revised FRP was approved for implementation in 2022. MLM is still implementing Phase 1 of the FRP (which should have been completed within six to eight months). Only 52% of Phase 1 of the FRP has been completed after three years of implementation.”

Forwarded messages between municipal officials, seen by The Mercury, speak to the content of the meeting.

One message said, “The MEC for Finance, NT (National Treasury), and PT (Provincial Treasury) met with the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Speaker, and Manco yesterday afternoon (November 24), reporting on their FRP Assessment, which states the finances are in decline. Management said that they have many initiatives to improve collections and are committed to their Voluntary FRP, which is still in place. (Treasury) said that this will be the last time to see improvement; then NT will impose a mandatory FRP. They were not happy with NT saying Msunduzi is in decline.”

“The official stressed that the numbers do not lie and that we should never have been taken out of intervention,” said the message.

ACDP councillor Rienus Niemand said the National Treasury will have to intervene to force change, as the voluntary experiment has failed.

“The ACDP will welcome such intervention. Time is of the essence. ACDP furthermore proposes the immediate imposition of Section 139-5 with national treasury compulsory intervention and oversight,” he added.

Anthony Waldhausen of MARRC (Msunduzi Association of Residents, Ratepayers and Civics) said the finances of the municipality have been an ongoing challenge.

“They have a dismal revenue collection, which is skewed and financially unsustainable. It’s a totally unfair revenue collection where we have a 30% collection from some residents, businesses, and government departments, whilst 70% are not paying for services or are illegally connected.”

CEO of Pietermaritzburg & Midlands Chamber of Business, Melanie Veness, said Msunduzi should be placed under full administration, describing the financial situation as “dire”.

“We think a strong, independent administrator (preferably from outside the province) should be brought in to address the widespread corruption and to ensure accountability. If the mismanagement, poor performance, and corruption are not addressed, then Msunduzi will not be able to trade itself out of this financial mess,” she said.

Msunduzi Mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla insisted that the municipality is on an upward trajectory.

THE MERCURY

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