OR Tambo details R3.3Bn budget, 700km-plus roads in five-year account

MTHATHA- From washed-away roads and disaster-damaged bridges to more than 700 kilometres of new and improved access roads, the OR Tambo District Municipality(ORTDM) says its five-year turnaround is now visible not only in its financial records but on the ground across its five local municipalities.

Delivering the district’s 2026 State of the District Address at the Cicira Conference Centre in Mthatha on 17 September.

ORTDM Executive Mayor Cllr. Mesuli Ngqondwana said the municipality had emerged from a period of financial distress to a position where its budget was growing and being fully spent.

Ngqondwana told councillors, traditional leaders and residents that the district had been forced to confront its problems when it was placed under administration.

“We unanimously agreed that the institution was in trouble, and we accepted the interventions,” he said.

The mayor said irregular expenditure had fallen from R1.678 Billion in 2021/22 to R322 Million at the end of the 2025/26 financial year.He said there was also no new irregular expenditure on new contracts.

At the same time, the district’s budget had increased from R2.6 Billion in 2021/22 to more than R3.3 Billion in the 2026/27 financial year.

Ngqondwana emphasised that the budget had been fully spent for three consecutive years.But it was the roads programme that featured most prominently in the municipality’s account of its term in office.

Ingquza Hill constructed more than 270km of access roads and maintained a further 360km, while also refurbishing bridges damaged by disasters.

Port St Johns constructed 214.3km of new access roads and 14.63km of paved roads. The municipality also rehabilitated 10 bridges and 31.6km of access roads.

Nyandeni maintained and upgraded more than 200km of roads across more than 20 wards. Among the projects cited were the Dontsa-Mangwaneni road and the Mqwangqweni No 1 to Mqwangqweni No 2 route, including four bridges.

In King Sabata Dalindyebo, about 58.3km of surfaced and gravel roads were constructed, while 7.065km were resealed. Mhlontlo, meanwhile, secured R104.49 Million from the Disaster Response Grant for 41 roads and two bridges.

Ngqondwana said the projects reflected an attempt to move away from fragmented service delivery.

“At the centre of what we have been doing we wanted to ensure that services are delivered in an integrated approach,” he said.

Port St Johns built six community halls and renovated another four, while Nyandeni constructed community halls in Wards 12, 16, 25, 29, 31 and 2.

In Mthatha, the KSD municipality expanded refuse collection from 14 to 32 billable areas and completed a waste transfer station in Ward 24. It also installed 102 public safety cameras across the town.

“The KSD municipality demonstrated some of the most tangible improvements over the term, particularly in roads, waste management and disaster-response infrastructure,” Ngqondwana said.

Furthmore, electrification was also listed among the district’s achievements, alongside roads, bridges and community infrastructure. The financial turnaround formed another central theme of the mayor’s address.

Ngqondwana recalled that the district had entered the current administration under severe financial pressure, including the withholding of funds under Section 216 of the Constitution.

He said the municipality was no longer in the position it occupied when the new administration took office.

The reduction in irregular expenditure, he said, was evidence of the institution’s financial recovery, while the increased budget and reported spending performance showed that the turnaround was not confined to the municipality’s books.

From R1.678 Billion in irregular expenditure in 2021/22 to R322 Million in 2025/26, and from a R2.6 Billion budget to more than R3.3 Billion.

Ngqondwana said the district’s progress could now be measured in physical infrastructure. The roads, bridges, community halls, waste facilities and public safety infrastructure, he argued, were the visible footprint of that recovery.

In addition, the address therefore served as more than an account of the past five years. It was also a handover report, setting out where OR Tambo stood when the district faced financial intervention what the administration says it has built since then and the challenges that will confront the next council.