The Municipality’s Trading Services Cluster will be granted R3.3 billion over the next three years, provided it complies with the grant conditions of the National Treasury.
A total of R54 billion will be availed by National Treasury to eight qualifying metros over the next six-years.
This emerged at a Trading Services Committee, held at the Pinetown Civic Centre on Wednesday, the 19 March.
Mduduzi Nkosi, Chairperson of the Trading Services Committee said there are a number of stages that the Municipality will need to get right, before June 2025, to qualify for the Treasury grant.
First the Performance Improvement Action Plan is a prerequisite for the Urban Settlements Development Grant (USDG) for the current financial year.
There is an array of guideline information required from the Municipality, stipulated by National Treasury.
Secondly, grant eligibility is based on two conditions: Submission of Council-approved documents and an unqualified audit opinion.
These documents include, but are not limited to, a Council-approved turnaround strategy, an institutional roadmap, a business and investment plan, and a performance improvement action plan of acceptable quality within the prescribed period requested by National Treasury.
The other condition required by Treasury, is a clean or qualified financial audit report of the Municipality for the previous financial year.
Should the Municipality have received an adverse or disclaimer audit report, it will not access the grant in the next financial year but can rejoin the programme after showing improvement.
Nkosi said the Municipality is receiving support from National Treasury, the Department of Water and Sanitation Minister, and the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal.
“The strategy will turn things around, and as a result, National Treasury is willing to add more funding over the six-year period of the programme” he said.
Picture: eThekwini Municipality