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The apparent inability of Eastern Cape municipalities to spend their grant funding has led to the 'loss' of at least R2.2 billion which had been returned to the national treasury.
These include millions allocated over the past four financial years for municipal infrastructure, electricity, and water services, as well as grants for bulk water infrastructure.
In reply to questions from the Democratic Alliance, MEC, Zolile Williams, said the department had developed the Risk-Adjusted Strategy (RAS) framework, to arrest perpetual grant under-spending.
"The RAS was introduced in March 2023 targeting 2023/24, and the mid-year performance improved from 37% to 61% compared between the last financial year 2022/23 and this year 2023/24.
"The department is engaging municipalities in different forums to check the performance of the municipalities and support required to boost the implementation of projects," he said.
But, DA MPL, Dr Vicky Knoetze, said the result of the inability to spend the grant funding was that hundreds of thousands of people are being forced to live with sewage in their streets, taps with no water, and no electricity supply to their homes.
"Critical infrastructure projects ranging from water augmentation to electrification and bulk infrastructure upgrades have fallen because of maladministration and incompetence.
"The unspent R2.2 billion represents a missed opportunity to address critical infrastructure needs across various municipalities.
"Identifying the root causes of underspending and implementing corrective measures is crucial to ensure that future grants are utilised in a timely and effective manner," Knoetze said.
