AG: Only 41 municipalities received clean audits
The Auditor-General has told Parliament that the state of local government remains dire, and requires political intervention.
The audit outcomes for local government for the 2023/24 financial year indicates a total of 41 of the country’s 257 municipalities obtained clean audits.
Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke briefed the portfolio committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs on Wednesday.
Among the metros, the City of Cape Town is the only municipality that received clean audit again, while City of Ekurhuleni, City of Johannesburg, eThekwini Metro received unqualified findings.
City of Tshwane, Buffalo City Metro, Mangaung Metro and Nelson Mandela Bay Metro received qualified audits with findings.
Maluleke said since the 2021 local government elections, many municipalities have been characterised by delayed action to respond to concerns raised by the national audit office.
"Such sluggish action, did not only result in undesirable audit outcomes but also had a negative impact on the lived realities of South Africans.
"When municipalities do not effectively manage their performance, finances and infrastructure, they are unable to deliver on key government priorities that are intended to improve the lives of South Africans."
She called on Parliament and the provincial legislatures to make diligent oversight and decisive action on municipal failure to turn around the culture in local government.
Further, urging local government authorities to use their remaining year in office before elections to provide effective and efficient governance and service delivery.
"Despite the commitments made in response to these calls, action has been too slow. Based on the overall audit outcomes in 2023-24, the results from the detailed work that we performed at metros and local municipalities with repeated disclaimer audit opinions, we can only conclude that little has changed and that local government continues to be in a dire state,” she added.
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