In scrutinizing the city’s financial reporting I have learnt that in a period of just four months from July 2020 – October 2020 the ANC administrators were able to blow through R18 million in legal costs.
I learnt this on Wednesday 25 November after I re-implemented and relaunched the Revenue Expenditure and Performance Committee (Repco).
The Revenue, Expenditure and Performance Committee (Repco) is a committee established by the Executive Mayor.
The intention of this structure is to have monthly meetings to deal with high level matters that pertain to the city’s finances, spending, budgeting processes and management of strategic assets.
The focus of these meetings will be centered around the following themes:
• Track expenditure on both the capital budget and the operational budget to assess whether spending targets are being achieved.
• Receive feedback and status updates on the management of strategic assets in the city.
• Assess risks in Supply Chain processes and tracking of crucial tenders and awards.
• Receive monthly feedback on the work done by the bid committees in the city.
• Track legal spending and costs being incurred by departments as a result of legal action.
• Evaluate the city’s financial and economic recovery.
Disturbingly I learnt how R18 million in legal costs was spent by the ANC administrators in their last four months in office. Costs they could have easily been avoided if the appropriate oversight mechanisms were in place to ensure that departments responded to the needs of residents.
It should never be a default position of the city to litigate on all matters. There will of course be moments when the city must defend itself and its decisions, or initiate legal action against parties if contracts have been violated or city by-laws have been broken.
However, we should strive to prevent matters from going to the courts and where they do, we must ensure that the city has a strong chance of victory.
Responsiveness is the key to ensuring that we prevent legal action before it occurs. This requires prioritizing that we engage with all stakeholders. This is why I have tasked MMC Sylvestor Phokoje for Corporate and Shared Services with making sure the city’s legal mitigation strategy is properly implemented.