eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba warned municipal officials that the failure to monitor contracts showed a weakness in governance, and he suspected there was collusive corruption in the city. 

The municipality came under public scrutiny following three court cases that cost it millions, involving Daily Double Trading 479 CC, Solbeth Security and Risk Management Services, and Bless Joe Trading CC. 

Speaking at an Executive Committee (Exco) meeting on Tuesday,  Xaba said the Service Delivery Improvement Plan (SDIP) needed to be thoroughly interrogated by all political parties, and whether the money allocated in budgets would meet the performance indicators and targets. 

He warned of a mismatched budget where performance indicators were low while the budget was high.

Xaba stated that the budget is meant to provide goods and services to the people, and it was important to monitor the process and improve oversight. He went on to urge municipal officials to do things differently. 

Councillor Zandile Myeni, the deputy mayor of eThekwini Municipality, stated that the heads of departments should be held accountable.

Andre Beetge, DA Exco member, said it should not be a case where, within three months into the budget cycle, there would be calls to reprioritise the budget, which often left projects incomplete. 

Xaba said the city’s losing cases in court pointed to a weakness in managing contracts. 

“I do not know who benefits from such, but I suspect collusive corruption in the process. We have to put a stop to this. We must be able to monitor contracts.”  

The recent court orders issued against the city have prompted the municipality to strengthen contract management controls.

To ensure contracts are properly planned, executed, and monitored, the municipality stated that they have implemented the following measures:

• Early Contract Initiation: Departments are directed, in terms of Supply Chain Management circulars, to initiate procurement processes at least nine months before the expiry of existing contracts. This allows for proper planning, competitive bidding, and uninterrupted service delivery.
• Automation and Red Flag Reporting: Contract monitoring is being automated in line with the Municipal Standard Chart of Accounts requirements. This includes the implementation of exception-based red flag reports to detect delays, non-performance, and irregularities in real-time.
• Capacitation on Contract Compliance: Targeted efforts are under way to train and capacitate departments and legal services to ensure a thorough understanding and enforcement of the terms and conditions of contracts.

Payment Controls

To promote financial discipline and prevent unauthorised payments, the following measures are in place:

• Policy-Based Payments: All payments to service providers are processed strictly by the municipality’s Accounts Payable Policy, which has been clearly communicated to all departments.
• Official Orders Required: As previously communicated to all service providers, no goods or services should be delivered without an official municipal purchase order or contract. Doing so may result in non-payment and be recorded as irregular expenditure
• Follow-Up on Outstanding Invoices: Suppliers who have long-outstanding payments are encouraged to contact the municipality directly to follow up on the status of invoices submitted. This ensures efficient resolution and maintains accountability across departments.

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za

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