Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities
(a) Whether the Provincial Treasury intervenes to curb, remedy or manage the cost escalation of the City of Cape Town’s traffic contravention services from R8,45 million to R65 million; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Section 216 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, read with the applicable provisions of the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act, 2007 (“the MFMA”), requires the National Treasury to enforce compliance with certain prescribed measures to ensure both transparency and expenditure control in municipalities.
Certain of the National Treasury’s support, oversight and administrative functions in this regard may be delegated by the National Minister of Finance to MECs for Finance in accordance with the provisions of the MFMA. To date, as per MFMA Circular 20 of 2005 (issued by the National Treasury), these functions of the National Treasury insofar as they relate to the largest municipalities in each province (including the City of Cape Town in the Western Cape) have not been delegated or assigned to provincial governments and therefore remain the direct responsibility of the National Treasury until further notice.
The abovementioned cost escalation in respect of the City of Cape Town would therefore need to be addressed by the National Treasury via the Municipal Public Accounts Committee training sessions and mid-year budget performance engagements that take place with the National Treasury.
