Auditor General Kimi Makwetu. File photo
Auditor General Kimi Makwetu. File photo
The Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA) has on Wednesday 1 July released its report on municipal audits for the 2018/19 financial year, and the results, by and large, do not make comfortable reading.
Overall, Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu, said that there are grave issues that exist in the majority of the country’s departments, with irregular expenditure increasing from R25 billion in 2017/19 to R32 billion.
“The right hands are not at the till,” said Makwetu.
The Western Cape’s municipalities fared the best overall, with 13 of the 20 municipalities awarded qualified audits without irregularities found in the province. Of the 257 municipalities in the country, 31 produced improved financial reports from previous years while 76 regressed.
The North West was by far the poorest performing province, with nine municipalities receiving disclaimed opinions and eight received qualified opinions. Not one municipality in the Province received a clean or qualified audit.
“The safe and clean hands that can be relied upon to look after the public’s finances in local government are few and far between,” said Makwetu.
“Those that are required to supervise and monitor adherence to fiscal management laws are not doing so or are not effective in the steps they have taken so far.”
“This problem is compounded by the indisputable reality that the money allocated to the delivery of certain specified outcomes is no longer in the bank and that for which it was earmarked has not been delivered or achieved.
Irregular expenditure increased by R7 billion to R32 billion, with Makwetu providing a damning assessment of maladministration and corruption within local governments.
“The discrepancies, as well as the departure from the prescribed regulations that govern the procurement of goods and services, has not been fixed,”
“We are not really making progress with regards to financial management in local municipalities. Most have remained stagnant or regressed from the positions they achieved in the previous year.”
“Many continue to extend contracts without following the correct due processes. Many, even in municipal account public offices, tend to want to condone irregular expenditure from previous years.”
Irregular expenditure was reported in the following provinces:
Here is a breakdown of provincial audits:
The following was reported:
More to follow