91 4.3.8 Inadequate and inefficient contract management
4.5 Measures to Curb Corruption in the eThekwini Municipality
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Serious problem in the ANC, two serious factions with James Nxumalo and Sandile Gumede fighting one another because both want power. So they can clean out the city. James Nxumalo is controlled by Cele and Gumede is controlled by Zwele Mkhize, those are the two factions (DA 6, 13 May 2015).
I‟m thinking there‟s two things going on at the moment , it‟s an issue of positions, prestige and power… money will contribute to that but the key is holding positions in terms of power (ANC 3, 3 June 2015).
Corruption has numerous political implications for eThekwini Municipality. Not only does it delegitimise the ANC, it also undermines the principles of democracy. Additionally, it creates divisions within political parties and creates instability within the Municipality.
It is thus imperative to discuss the measures to curb corruption in the eThekwini municipality, which is the theme of the last section of this Chapter.
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Another instrument mentioned by respondents was the Office of the Ombudsman. The Ombudsperson seeks to address complaints relating to maladministration, fraud and corruption with impartiality and to find solutions with relevant agencies (eThekwini Municipality, 2015). Some interviewees felt that the Ombudsman was an effective instrument in dealing with corruption, but only with those who hold lower posts in government. Others contended that the Ombudsman was ineffective, lacked legitimacy and was a waste of time because it was selective in the cases of corruption which it investigated.
Additionally, the lack of political oversight of this office was problematic, as it was directly under the control of the city manager:
I have personally gone to the City Manager and brought to his attention, allegations of corruption … he is dismissive … it will be investigated by the Office of the Ombudsman. I have seen the Ombudsman Office act very quickly against a member of staff who was accused of theft by false pretences. They even came immediately and arrested her in her office. Yet, they will not lift a finger to investigate the real cases of corruption that are happening … the problem is, that particular office works with almost no political oversight. They are not going to the executive committee and stating what is being done to curb corruption. We don‟t know how many people are being arrested, how many people taken to court or fired or disciplined or anything. It‟s all done behind closed doors … the Ombudsman Office is directly under the Office of the City Manager.
If the City Manager doesn‟t want to give you information that‟s it.
(DA 1, 4 May 2015).
Interviewed councillors also identified various committees that have been instituted to address corruption which include the ethics committee, risk committee (see Table 4.7) and the MPAC. Some felt that these committees were successful, while others called into question their effectiveness in curbing corruption. More specifically, the MPAC was identified as an effective measure, however it suffers from budgetary and expertise constraints which have limited its ability to take on a greater number of cases:
Let‟s say in 2012, was the setup of the ethics committee, then we got MPAC … you got your policies put into place like your whistle blowing and anti-fraud and corruption. But over and above that there is also a risk in terms of internal control, they have put together a kind of risk that we must be also alert … so you‟ve got a risk strategy … they are effective (ANC 3, 3 June 2015).
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I think the oversight committees are effective, such as MPAC … if we hear of anything we investigate it and we try to deal with it, but the capacity for proper investigation is seriously lacking … we employ the wrong people I guess … we have also been quibbling for a MPAC budget and we have been turned down every time … I think there is a fear that we will become too good (DA 5, 7 May 2015).
For matters implicating politicians there‟s an ethics committee. So in terms of structures and processes in place, they have done well … there‟s another issue now, talking of the effectiveness (Bureaucrat 1, 28 May 2015).
We do have the Municipal Accounts Committee, which incidentally should have been in place many years ago, but of late has been put into place and at least that is a body in fact that highlighted some areas of concern - poor accounting practices, poor administration, tender irregularities (DA 9, 28 May 2015)
Table 4.8 Top priority risks relating to corruption (2013/2014)
Risk Name Risk Description High Level Controls
Supply Chain Management Inability to procure and
distribute goods and services in a timely manner
Procurement Scheduling (Planning)
Revised organogram Human Settlement expectation Inability to effectively deliver
houses in the human settlement mandate
Stakeholder engagement
Backlog Services Task Team
Housing Delivery Strategy
Public Protest The risk of public protest due to 2014 National election
Permits for public protest
Ward committees Fraud, Theft and Corruption The impact of activities and
decisions that are taken in an unethical manner by
stakeholders
Fraud Hotline
Ethics training for staff
Declarations of interests
Anti-Fraud and corruption policy
Code of conduct
Disciplinary processes
Anti-fraud and prevention strategy