Treasury reclaims unspent development funds from the capital
The National Treasury has reclaimed R155.4 million in development funding from the City of Tshwane, according to the Freedom Front Plus, which says the figure comes from the metro’s own progress report on grants and subsidies for the year ending 30 June 2026. In practical terms, Tshwane loses R155 million that was earmarked for safe drinking water, sewer systems and roads across the capital.
The party said in a statement on 2 August that the money was forfeited because the metro failed to complete basic processes on time, including the timeous issuing of statutory notices. Freedom Front Plus
The grants report was tabled at council as the metro closed its 2025/26 financial year. The report itself had not been published on the city’s website by the time of publication, and the figures below reflect the Freedom Front Plus’s account of its contents.
The party is demanding disciplinary steps against the officials it holds responsible for the loss, urgent investigations into tenders signed at the last minute, and action against officials who allow contracts to expire. “Such practices undermine good governance and expose the city to needless risks,” the party said. Freedom Front Plus
What the forfeited money means for water, roads and sewers in your suburb
Conditional grants are national funds ring-fenced for specific projects. When a municipality cannot spend them within the rules and deadlines, the Treasury can withhold or take the money back, and the projects the funds were meant to build stall or stop.
According to the party’s reading of the report, the consequences are concentrated in some of the capital’s most underserviced areas. Roads funding of R7.089 million for Mfumo Street in Hammanskraal shows zero percent spent. Water and neighbourhood network upgrades in Mamelodi Extension 11 also stand at zero percent expenditure, leaving R901 090 unutilised. Freedom Front Plus
Sewer pipe replacements in the north of the city, the CBD and Pretoria West ground to a halt after contracts expired and new tenders were cancelled, the party said. Residents in those areas continue to live with the ageing infrastructure the grants were meant to replace. Freedom Front Plus
Public transport users are also affected. The party said Tshwane’s public transport budget was cut by R224 million, or 42.7 percent, because of persistent underperformance, and that a further R24 million of the funds that did arrive was left unspent. Freedom Front Plus
How Tshwane lost R155 million: the project scorecard
The Freedom Front Plus listed the following project-level figures from the grants report:
| Project or programme | Figure cited | Status per the party |
|---|---|---|
| Development funds reclaimed by Treasury | R155.4 million | Forfeited over late statutory notices |
| Public transport budget cut | R224 million (42.7%) | Reduced for underperformance |
| Public transport funds received but unspent | R24 million (8%) | Not spent |
| Mfumo Street roads, Hammanskraal | R7.089 million | 0% spent |
| Mamelodi Extension 11 water and networks | R901 090 unutilised | 0% spent |
| Parkmore Reservoir | R6.81 million unspent (45%) | Contractor abandoned site |
| Mabopane Block A roads | 97% unspent | 3% performance |
| Stinkwater flood control | 71% unutilised | 29% spent |
| HIV and Aids programme | R14.2 million unspent | Educators not contracted in time |
The party added that contractors who abandon work should not only be fined but blacklisted so that they cannot benefit from public funds again, and that all unspent funds should be safeguarded through valid rollover applications. Freedom Front Plus
The pattern is not new. In February 2024 the Treasury wrote to municipal manager Johann Mettler signalling its intention to withdraw part of R629 million in conditional grants over underperformance in the 2023/24 financial year. Treasury deputy director-general Malijeng Ngqaleni wrote at the time: “This decision will not in any way affect future allocations to your municipality.” IOLIOL
The city has previously rejected underspending claims. In a statement on the 2023/24 financial year, the metro said 96 percent of all grants and subsidies from national and provincial government had been efficiently utilised, and described opposition allegations of underspending as false. City of Tshwane
In May 2026 the Freedom Front Plus reported that the Treasury had given notice of its intention to stop all grant funding to the metro over serious shortcomings in compliance processes, and that the draft 2026/27 budget relies on R7.7 billion from national government. That reliance means every rand forfeited raises the pressure on the metro’s already strained finances. Freedom Front Plus
What happens before the 4 November election
Several questions remain open. The City of Tshwane, led by ActionSA mayor Nasiphi Moya’s coalition, had not issued a response to the 2 August statement by the time of publication. It is not yet confirmed whether rollover applications for the remaining unspent balances have been lodged or approved by the Treasury, and no disciplinary process against any official has been announced.
The full grants and subsidies report is expected to become public through the council’s document record, which will allow the party’s figures to be tested against the source document line by line.
The political timing is significant. President Cyril Ramaphosa has set 4 November 2026 as the date for the local government elections, and the Freedom Front Plus explicitly linked the grants losses to that vote in its statement. SAnews
The next fixed markers are the publication of the council’s year-end grant documents, the Treasury’s decisions on any rollover applications for 2025/26, and the metro’s first-quarter grant expenditure report for 2026/27, due after 30 September.
