[imagesource:wikimediacommons]

Knysna, “once the jewel of the Garden Route”, has made headlines over recent months over dead bodies in the water system, a lack of water, a sewage crisis and political back and forth about who is to blame.

In December 2023, the municipality opted for a diagnostic assessment to tackle underlying issues, including those self-identified, plaguing the municipality. What emerged was a 109-page diagnostic report, produced by the Western Cape Local Government Department, which revealed how and where the Knysna Municipality has failed.

Daily Maverick reported a few key issues raised in the provincial government’s diagnostic report on challenges faced by the Knysna Municipality, including floundering communication between residents and council, high staff vacancies and interference from councillors.

The issues related to council functionality and governance included delaying tactics used at council meetings, ward councillors not reporting back to their communities, and how “certain ratepayers organisations are politicised institutions”.

Other concerns raised by the municipality included that while meetings were held regularly, the “council overregulates administrative decision-making, which negatively affects the administration”.

Issues were also raised about the administrative stability of the Knysna Municipality, as well as acting appointees who were not taking accountability. High overtime pay and a poor organisational culture in the municipality were also among the complaints, with the report stating, “Wellness sessions and diversity management sessions are needed”.

The report recommended there should be training for councillors on their roles and responsibilities and the Code of Conduct for Councillors.

When it came to community development services and community organisations, it was noted that poor appointments at the council level needed to be addressed.

“How can someone with a Standard 2 education oversee infrastructure projects?” one organisation asked during interviews at a closed session.

Organisations also said there were no repercussions for those transgressing bylaws and councillors interfered with the enforcement of bylaws. The organisations thus proposed more lifestyle audits of councillors, more regular communication between municipal leadership and organisations, a municipal vision to be developed for future growth, and the municipality to enforce its bylaws.

The report also recommended that the municipality must “as a matter of urgency” prioritise waste recovery and the provision of integrated waste infrastructure. The municipality rents the Knysna Waste Transfer Station (KWTS) from Transnet. The property is used for the accumulation and compaction of general waste into containers for daily transportation by a service provider to PetroSA in Mossel Bay.

However, the scheduling of the transportation of compacted waste containers at the KWTS was a logistical nightmare, with a “bottleneck” caused by limited offloading space and no empty waste containers. “Staff were also ‘sitting around’ as they were unable to process any waste within the KWTS,” read the report.

The report therefore wants the municipality to follow through with its proposal to create a dedicated post to focus on waste awareness, waste minimisation and recycling.

Then, the 56% staff vacancy rate in the municipality’s infrastructure services directorate is having “a significant impact on the ability of the directorate to deliver services in respect to planned and routine maintenance as well as response to emergencies”.

The report indicates that the acting technical director is actively appointing strategic personnel, including fitters and technicians, to address water pump station overflows and telemetry issues within the municipality.

According to the report, “This will improve the response to faults in both the water and wastewater networks and provide a degree of relief to the sewage overflows and subsequent occurrence of environmental pollution as well as interruptions in the supply of potable water.”

Mayor Aubrey Tsengwa said, “While the council has adopted this plan, it must be noted that none of these are ‘quick fixes’.”

He said he is taking this opportunity to share the most notable recommendations with residents, adding that “a lot of work and cooperation between the municipality and various governmental departments must be done before any of these proposals can be put into place.”

You can read the full report over here.

[source:dailymaverick]