Municipal audit progress slow: Nombembe

Progress towards municipalities and municipal entities achieving clean audits has been slow, Auditor General Terence Nombembe said on Tuesday.

   

Releasing the 2011/12 consolidated report on local governmentaudit outcomes in Pretoria, Nombembe said the general results had regressed in the year under review.

   

"The progress towards clean audits has been slow, with the number of clean audits remaining at the same low level of five percent for the past three years.

   

"The overall outcomes regressed, as 41 auditees improved, but 50 regressed," he said.

   

The latest report showed that almost half of those attaining clean audits were municipal entities, not municipalities.

   

In the Free State, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, almost all the clean audits were achieved by municipal entities.

   

In Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape, all the clean audits were achieved by municipalities.

   

"Unfortunately, the metropolitan municipalities faltered in their crucial role of providing exemplary leadership to smaller municipalities, as none of the eight metros obtained a clean audit," said Nombembe.

   

The AG completed the audits of 317 (94 percent) of the 338 entities that submitted financial statements by August 31 last year. Local government consisted of eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district municipalities, and 60 municipal entities.

   

- Sapa