Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Zweli Mkhize says it is of concern that there has been no improvements in municipal audit results over the past few years.
Auditor-General (AG) Kimi Makwetu on Wednesday presented his audit results of South Africa’s municipalities for the 2016/ 2017 financial year which showed an overall deterioration in the audit results. The Auditor-General has been scathing of the financial performance of the country’s municipalities, saying they have regressed. His report shows that irregular expenditure in the country’s municipalities has increased from R16.2 billion to R28.3 billion, up by 75%.
Makwetu says despite his office’s constant and insistent advice and caution to those charged with governance and oversight about administrative lapses since 2013, his counsel is not being heeded.
Mkhize says his department is also worried about the AG results.
“We have the same concern that we don’t seem to be getting an improvement there. With the Auditor-General the problem is that there is a disjuncture between the audit outcomes and the direct interventions that the AG can make in a municipality,” says Mkhize.
He says however that they are determined to turn things around.
Mkhize says they are sending teams to deal with the municipalities that we have identified as distressed for various reasons. He says 87 such municipalities have been identified. He says they will also be helping municipalities with financial management.
Secondly we have teams that will focus on financial management, to help them ensure that they have the correct budget and that they comply with audit regulations.
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