From Financial Distress to Stabilisation: O.R. Tambo District Puts Five-Year Record Before The Public

FROM FINANCIAL DISTRESS TO STABILISATION: O.R. TAMBO DISTRICT PUTS FIVE-YEAR RECORD BEFORE THE PUBLIC

 

The O.R. Tambo District Municipality has placed its five-year record of governance, financial recovery and service delivery before the public following the delivery of the 2026 State of the District Address (SODA) by Executive Mayor Councillor Ngqondwana on 17 September 2026.

The Address accounted for the work undertaken over the current term, outlined the Municipality’s programme for the 2026/27 financial year and set the basis for the institutional handover to the incoming Council.

The Executive Mayor reflected on a term that began under severe financial pressure. At the start of the term, municipal funds were subject to conditions under Section 216 of the Constitution, creditors exceeded R400 million and service-delivery projects had been affected by non-payment.

Against that background, SODA reported measurable progress in stabilising the institution.

Irregular expenditure was reported to have declined from approximately R1.678 billion in 2021/22 to R322 million by the end of 2025/26, while the Municipality has maintained an unqualified audit opinion for three consecutive financial years.

The municipal budget has grown from approximately R2.6 billion in 2021/22 to more than R3.3 billion in 2026/27, while the collection rate improved from 54% to 66% over the term.

The Municipality is currently implementing the stabilisation phase of its Financial Recovery Plan. Of the 150 activities contained in the implementation plan, SODA reported that 71% had been completed, 25% were in progress and 4% had not yet commenced. Provincial Treasury had, by July 2026, made a submission for the Municipality to progress to the Sustainability Phase.

WATER AND SANITATION REMAIN AT THE CENTRE OF DELIVERY

Water and sanitation remain central to the District Municipality’s constitutional mandate and to the daily lived experience of communities.

Over the term, more than 4,372 households were reported to have received water through completed and functional water-supply schemes. The refurbishment of major schemes, including the Flagstaff Regional Water Supply Scheme and Port St Johns Regional Water Supply Phase 6, was reported to have benefited more than 23,037 households.

Almost 21,708 households were provided with rural sanitation through Ventilated Improved Pit facilities over the term.

The Municipality also acknowledged that constructing infrastructure alone is not enough. Reliable services depend on functional schemes, preventative maintenance and the ability to respond quickly when systems fail.

For this reason, the operations and maintenance allocation increased from approximately R44.9 million in 2023/24 to R96.9 million in 2026/27, excluding electricity costs. Additional allocations have been made for fuel and internal water-carting capacity.

The Municipality has also introduced regular operational monitoring of water schemes and dedicated interventions to address sewer spillages.

HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AND DISASTER RESPONSE

According to the SODA account, the District’s partnership with the Department of Human Settlements had yielded 1,187 houses across municipalities at the time of the Address.

The Executive Mayor also reflected on the devastating June 2025 floods, which affected thousands of families and claimed 78 lives in the district.

The disaster reinforced the need to strengthen institutional capacity to respond to increasingly severe climate-related emergencies.

Over the term, the Municipality invested in additional firefighting and disaster-response vehicles and advanced the District Disaster Management Centre in Libode, which is intended to strengthen coordination, early warning and emergency response.

LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The Address further reflected on interventions supporting farmers, cooperatives, SMMEs and informal traders, together with programmes aimed at unlocking opportunities in agriculture, forestry, tourism and the oceans economy.

These interventions form part of the District’s broader approach to building local productive capacity, supporting livelihoods and positioning economic development as a shared programme across the five local municipalities.

THE RECORD ALSO INCLUDES WHAT REMAINS UNFINISHED

SODA did not suggest that every service-delivery challenge has been resolved.

The Address acknowledged continuing infrastructure and operational pressures, including wastewater projects in Port St Johns and Mqanduli, where land-related challenges and disputes have affected implementation.

Infrastructure vandalism, water reliability, maintenance requirements and remaining service-delivery backlogs also require continued intervention.

These challenges form part of the record against which future performance must be measured.

2026/27: FROM ACCOUNTING TO ACCELERATION

The 2026/27 programme now shifts the focus from reflecting on the term to accelerating the work that remains.

The Municipality has identified the following priorities for the financial year:

• Strengthening governance and compliance;

• Improving financial management and municipal viability;

• Accelerating sustainable water and sanitation services;

• Strengthening operations and maintenance of water schemes;

• Improving grant expenditure;

• Supporting Local Economic Development and job creation; and

• Strengthening fire, municipal health and disaster-management services.

The Municipality has further set a target to improve its revenue collection rate to above 72.8% and intends to build on three consecutive unqualified audit outcomes through continued improvements in governance and financial management.

“We are not presenting a record that says every challenge has been resolved. We are placing before our communities an account of where this Municipality started, what has changed, what remains unfinished and what must now be accelerated.”

The Municipality calls on communities, organised business, traditional leadership, civil society, development partners and all spheres of government to continue working together to protect public infrastructure and advance development across the District.

The 2026 State of the District Address has placed the record before the people.

It is a record of progress, but also a record of unfinished work.

The next test is delivery against it.

ENDS

Issued by:

O.R. Tambo District Municipality