South African municipality in serious financial trouble spent R359 million on pit toilets

The Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality (NMMDM) in the North West is facing scrutiny after spending R358,742,109 on VIP (ventilated improved pit) toilets over the past two financial years.

This has raised significant debate about resource allocation, particularly in areas that have long been gut-punched by service delivery woes.

Shortly before Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tabled the budget, Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) chairperson and RISE Mzansi president Songezo Zibi used a “quick example” of government inefficiency in an interview with Newzroom Afrika.

“Many municipalities receive significant amounts of money, but it’s spent poorly. It’s either stolen or spent on the most useless things,” said Zibi.

“There’s a municipality in the North West that had VIP toilets for everybody, including the houses where they had running water and a flush toilet.”

“So they were just standing there outside. That’s inefficiency. If you save that money that you use in ways like that and put it back into service delivery, you begin to see the change in people’s lives,” he said.

This issue was revealed in October 2024 when the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) presented the audit outcomes of various municipalities, including the NMMDM, to the Scopa.

The AGSA specifically addressed the financial management and service delivery issues within NMMDM, which includes municipalities like the embattled Ditsobotla, Mafikeng and Ramotshere Moiloa.

The AGSA’s briefing to Scopa raised concerns about the potential misallocation of funds, noting that resources meant for water projects might have been diverted to other initiatives like VIP toilets.

The municipality stated that these investments “are necessary interventions,” given the lack of access to piped sewage across many parts of the district and its notorious reputation with sewage treatment.

In 2023, the SAHRC investigation found that the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality, due to its sewage problems, violated provisions of the Constitution, the Water Services Act, and the National Environmental Management Act.

However, the AGSA’s key finding was that the reported achievements in the annual performance report were not always supported by evidence, particularly concerning the transfer of constructed VIP toilets to targeted beneficiaries.

The audit team could not confirm whether all the VIP toilets built were given to the intended indigent individuals because the management failed to provide a beneficiary listing upon request.

This lack of proper record-keeping and beneficiary identification suggests a potential disconnect between the expenditure on these toilets and the impact on the community.

Furthermore, the AGSA noted issues with the specificity of targets related to the VIP toilet project, as it was not indicated how the achievements would be measured.

This lack of measurable targets makes it difficult to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the investment.

RISE Mzansi’s comments

Zibi emphasised that when discussing an efficient government, it’s not necessarily about government cuts but about ensuring that the constitutionally mandated spending of public funds is done effectively – investing back into improving services.

“RISE Mzansi has consistently stated that we will not achieve necessary economic growth if we do not fix municipalities by attracting the right technical skills, rooting out corruption, and collecting the necessary revenue,” said spokesperson Mabine Seabe.

“This is why we are encouraged by the budget allocation to reform failing municipalities, particularly the metros.”

Scopa will conduct in-loco inspections of several Eastern Cape municipalities at the end of March, which RISE Mzansi fully supports.

“We are hopeful that this will shed light on not only the issues but also the solutions needed to turn around possibly the most important sphere of government,” Seabe said.

BusinessTech recently visited various municipalities across NMMDM, including Ramotshere Moiloa and Ditsobotla Local Municipality.

During the visits, we were told of governance issues, including municipal mismanagement leading to severe service delivery problems like inconsistent water supply and a lack of accountability and leadership in addressing these crises.

Recently, residents of Zeerust blocked all entrances and exits to the town because of a consistent lack of water.

The failure to implement sustainable solutions and the absence of crucial information for regulatory audits highlight these governance challenges.