Auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke has lambasted the cities of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni for having poor financial controls.
Maluleke said this after her latest report showed that the City of Johannesburg and the City of Ekurhuleni municipalities have been downgraded to an unqualified audit status.
Ekurhuleni had received a clean audit in 2023 but has since slipped to an unqualified audit status due to issues with procurement processes.
She expressed disappointment as the metros were failing to set an example for lower-ranking municipalities.
Maluleke asserted that these municipalities, with the budget granted to them, should be able to recruit the skills needed to acquire modern information systems to help them compile credible financial statements.
Service-delivery information
“Metros struggle with controls over compliance, especially on procurements of contracts management. But they also struggle with service-delivery information,” she said.
The auditor-general said at least 75% of metros were unable to produce reliable service delivery reports.
She said the incompetence with delivering reliable reports also had an impact on how the municipality would deliver services, having a direct impact on residents.
“Weak institutions will always struggle to protect public resources,” she said.
“They will always struggle to have reliable and predictable controls and systems that make for a well-run institution, and we have seen the direct impact of weakened metros on the lives of citizens.”
The report also shows that the City of Cape Town was the only metro with a clean audit of all other municipalities.
Maluleke said a total of 110 municipalities have found themselves in the unqualified zone, and this included the 77 that have been in this zone for a number of years.
Oversight visits
She said this was a call for concern, especially considering that this number included problematic municipalities.
She said her office visited several municipalities and had oversight visits on some of these municipalities’ infrastructure projects.
It was found that some delayed projects while others managed to kick off the projects but never completed them.
Maluleke added that some of these projects had been completed but never served a purpose.
“When you look at this, in our analysis, we find that there are inadequate skills and capabilities to manage infrastructure projects.
“We find that even when there are infrastructure units set up, there isn’t enough order in those areas,” she said.
