The City of Tshwane’s ruling multi-party coalition is expected to meet with the mayoral committee to deliberate on plans to tackle the adverse findings made by auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke.
In a leaked report late last week, Maluleke found that Tshwane has been fraught with maladministration and corruption in the 2021/22 financial year. She said the city had been manipulating its financial statements to filter irregularities amounting to more than R10-billion of expenditure.
City of Tshwane mayor Randall Williams on Friday acknowledged the findings, further admitting that the city has seen a decline in good governance in the last two years. Williams said Tshwane accepts the findings and is committed to acting and rectifying where possible.
Williams also outlined steps to be taken to remedy the situation. The measures include internal investigations to find the politicians who benefitted from unlawful supply chain processes. The city’s chief financial officer, under whom corruption allegedly occurred, was fired on December 31.
“We have already begun the implementation of these steps and will continue to do so over the course of the coming year. Strong audit outcomes are the basis of good governance. We simply cannot compromise on these and we will ensure that we achieve a better outcome in future,” Williams said.
“With the city’s annual audit report having been reported on, I want to assure the residents of Tshwane that we take the findings of the auditor-general very seriously.
“In my last two years as executive mayor, the city has continuously received unqualified audits. The decline in the city’s audit performance is unacceptable and, as the political leadership, it is critical that we step up, take responsibility and ensure that we immediately plot a path towards achieving better audit outcomes.”
The coalition comprising the DA, ActionSA, the Congress of the People, Freedom Front Plus, the IFP, and the African Christian Democratic Party expressed disappointment, noting that it expects “urgent remedial action, deep reform, and real accountability”.
In a joint statement on Sunday, the coalition said: “From the outset, the multi-party coalition is unequivocal in expressing its disappointment with the audit findings and expects urgent remedial action, deep reform, and real accountability. Our efforts to displace failed ANC governance can never see regressions in the standards of good governance.
“The national structures of the multi-party coalition will meet with the executive team forming the mayoral committee in the City of Tshwane. While every effort is made to localise coalition management, the national coalition structures must be briefed on the causal factors behind the audit findings, as well as the measures that will be undertaken for remedial action.”
The parties said they are committed to rooting out corruption in the city and bringing those responsible for the transgressions to account.
“While it can be noted that the current multi-party government took over the reins at the metro five months after the 2021/2022 financial year commenced and there are deep historical problems underpinning the report pre-dating even that financial year, the multi-party government is, nonetheless, committed to address the historical root causes of adverse findings and hold those responsible accountable.
“South Africans are looking to a grouping of political parties to provide an alternative to the failed ANC legacy of collapsing service delivery and rampant corruption.
“This is why the governing multi-party coalition in the City of Tshwane will respond to the auditor-general’s report decisively with remedial action, consequence management, and transparency.”
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