Auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke has revealed glaring shortcomings in the use of public funds allocated to flood relief in KwaZulu-Natal.
These include inadequate humanitarian responses, excessive billing for services and substandard workmanship and materials.
Maluleke said in a report issued on Wednesday that the government’s interventions and response to the disaster was too slow.
This was her first “real-time” account to the ad hoc joint committee on flood disaster relief and recovery.
The impact of the slow pace of recovery meant “residents and businesses in affected areas continue to experience hardship more than three months after the floods with little relief”, Maluleke said.
The eThekwini Metro was severely wanting. It failed to complete a comprehensive needs assessment to ensure effective planning and delivery of water to all areas affected by flooding earlier this year.
As a water services authority, the metro is required by law to have a development plan, and should have had pertinent information such as the number of households to inform the assessment needs for the disaster.
Fleet management of water tankers was inadequate. A report from City Fleet (the company contracted for the metro’s fleet management) showed that of the 131 water tankers owned by the metro, 31% were in for maintenance or repairs and 7% did not show on the tracking system. Of the remaining 62%, only 55% are shown to have been put to use.
The auditor-general found that more residents could have been given water if the fleet was managed properly.
“A review of contract pricing from the same suppler ... showed that the daily rate charged per tanker was more than double the rate agreed by eThekwini Metro. The rate charged per kilometre travelled by tankers hired by the department was also 197% more than the amount paid by the metro,” the report found.
Questions have also been raised on the procurement process for water tankers. Maluleke found that the water & sanitation department awarded a R63.56m contract to two suppliers and eThekwini Metro used existing suppliers.
The KwaZulu-Natal education department came under fire for not following specifications for its mobile units at schools which formed the basis for the bidding process against which suppliers provided quotes. The floods caused damage to 356 schools in the province estimated at R235.38m.
In one instance, four of the 13 mobile units installed were not in use. Four were on ground previously submerged by the floods, and two of these had to be vacated in heavy rain in May.
“The construction of the remaining nine mobile classrooms was therefore placed on hold while the department investigated the availability of suitable land on the school premises not prone to flooding,” said the auditor-general.
Maluleke listed defects at audited schools, including untreated material, rust on steps and overhang sheets due to poor coating, uneven floors and poorly laid vinyl, instability and poor support of installations, electrical noncompliance and inadequate weatherproofing.
The provincial department of human settlements was flagged for providing defective temporary residential units (TRUs) to displaced families; 10% of families allocated these TRUs unsafely reconnected their units to the power grid because electrical connections were not included in the scope of the contractor’s work.
“The department [human settlements] did not timeously assess and validate displaced households as beneficiaries for TRUs. Only 1,197 of the 4,983 displaced households had been assessed by June 10 2022. Of those assessed, 894 households were validated as beneficiaries between May 9 and June 10 2022, entitling them to TRUs,” said Maluleke.
She implored government leaders during her engagements to act with urgency to restore livelihoods and improve services, noting that the preparedness of intergovernmental activities should be at the core of responding to a disaster
Maluleke said that she did not issue notifications of material irregularities as the findings and risks reported on are being addressed.
“If the matters that can lead to financial losses and/or substantial harm to the public are not resolved, we will use our enforcement mandate,” said Maluleke.
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