Auditor-General calls for accountability, transparency

• Author: JANINE ERASMUS
• Published date: 22 June 2022
• Publication title: Post

This was the call from Auditor-General (AG) Tsakani Maluleke, who recently tabled the 2020-21 Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) audit outcomes in the National Assembly

The usual five-year comparison period encompasses the entirety of the administration that took office in 2016, with local government elections on November 1, 2021 signalling an end to that administration.

This was a chance to change the status quo, said Maluleke.

“The new administration must instil a culture of performance, accountability, transparency and integrity,” she said.

“This, in turn, will enable these municipalities to be accountable to the communities they serve.”

Above all, she said, communities want to see their elected representatives and municipal officials act with integrity, being honest, ethical and incorruptible, and complying with legislation.

But as with previous audits, the few bright rays of hope were clouded by the same grim story that has been told over many years and many reports.

Overall, said the AG, only 61 municipalities out of the total of 257 had a better audit outcome in 2020-21 than in 2016-17, with 56 showing a worse audit outcome.

Some municipalities had managed to improve their outcomes, only to regress again in later years, she added.

While it is encouraging that the number of municipalities receiving clean audits has increased slightly, the report noted – 41 this year compared to 32 in the 2019-2020 cycle – this number still represents less than 20% of the total municipal budget.

Of the 41 municipalities, 27 were able to maintain a clean audit status over the five-year term of the previous administration. In addition, 14 achieved a clean audit for the first time, but six lost their clean audit status over the five-year period.

A clean audit should not be undermined or underestimated, said Maluleke.

“It is an important foundation for a municipality to deliver much-needed services to communities and spend scarce public resources prudently to improve their lived experiences.”

Positives outweighed by negatives

This positive outcome is soundly negated by the unacceptable facts showing that most municipalities are still in the foothills of the mountain to achieve good governance.

In 2021, the Department of Co-operative Governance reported that 64 municipalities were dysfunctional because of poor governance, weak institutional capacity, poor financial management, corruption and political instability.

In June 2017, eight municipalities were under...