AG: Most municipalities cannot complete basic financial statements, reports
Auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke says most municipalities cannot complete basic financial statements and reports.
Maluleke briefed Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) on the latest audit outcomes for the 2020/21 financial year on Wednesday morning.
"Compliance remains a challenge for most municipalities, the picture is cause for concern. Over the last five years, local government has gone backward in terms of service delivery and financial health."
She told MPs that the Free State and North West provinces have no clean audit and have regressed due to what she believes to be a lack of political will.
"This sphere has continued to go backward in the face of inaction and administrative leaders. Late or non-submission has become a norm in the province with a number of municipalities, this can be seen in the collapse of service delivery in some municipalities."
The Eastern Cape has four clean audits and has also regressed, with two metros that have qualified audit opinions with four disclaimers.
Gauteng has two clean audits from Ekurhuleni and Midvaal, while the majority of the audits in the province are in the unqualified zone.
Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal also regressed over the past five years.
Maluluke said Limpopo has improved its following “due to the premier’s political will”.
The Northern Cape improved only in district municipalities and the Western Cape continues to have a high number of clean audits.
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