Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr David Ross and Sesotho soundbite by David Masoeu MPL.
The DA in Nala will submit our concerns to the Public Accounts, Finance and COGTA Committees and insist that the municipality’s financial and administrative decisions are properly scrutinised, particularly where they could place an unaffordable burden on residents and businesses.
The Section 106 report on non-performance and maladministration has not yet been tabled before Council and is provisionally scheduled for 14 August 2026. The process was not a judicial inquiry, but an investigation intended to produce a report for Council. The DA will therefore insist that every matter be assessed individually and, where appropriate, referred for further investigation, disciplinary action, civil recovery or criminal proceedings.
Council adopted the proposed Distribution Agency Agreement with bulk suppliers. A potential benefit is that Nala may participate in Eskom’s Debt Relief Programme. The DA proposes that the Finance Committee examine the implications of Section 78 of the Municipal Systems Act, including the prescribed criteria and process for providing municipal services, while assessing the agreement’s direct and indirect costs and benefits and its likely impact on municipal development, job creation and employment patterns.
The final Nala Local Municipality Tariff Policy for 2026/27 was presented to Council on 6 August 2026 without consultation with residents or the Finance Committee. The DA notes a departure from the normal administrative process in proposing substantial and unaffordable increases. Water tariffs increased by 20.70%, electricity by 18.94%, while industrial and agricultural tariffs apparently remain unchanged.
Residents should not be forced to choose between paying inflated municipal bills and meeting other basic household needs.
These imposed tariffs differ from those previously proposed, subjected to public consultation and incorporated into the main budget following engagement with National Treasury. They also differ from the 9.01% electricity increase approved by NERSA on 5 March 2026 and the 6% increase proposed for other services.
Section 41 of the Municipal Finance Management Act requires National Treasury to monitor pricing structures for electricity, water and other prescribed bulk resources supplied to municipalities. Section 42 provides that where a national or provincial organ of state, such as Eskom or a water board, or a regulator such as NERSA, intends to increase the price of a bulk resource supplied to a municipality, it must first submit the proposed pricing amendment to the relevant regulatory agency. This submission must include a request for National Treasury and organised local government to provide written comments, a motivation for the proposed amendment, an explanation of how it accounts for national inflation targets and other macroeconomic policy objectives, and details of steps taken to improve competitiveness or efficiency and reduce costs.
Nala’s reported distribution losses of approximately 40% for water and 28% for electricity could be addressed to yield estimated savings of R28 million. The DA in Nala requests that these comments be tabled in Parliament or the relevant provincial legislature.
An increase approved on or before 15 March may not take effect for the affected municipality before 1 July of that year, while an increase approved after 15 March may not take effect before 1 July of the following year.
The Constitution’s Section 217 further requires procurement of goods and services through a system that is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective. The DA will continue to scrutinise these matters to ensure that residents and businesses are not made to bear the consequences of poor planning, inefficiency or inadequate financial oversight.