BRITS POS – BRITS - Recently the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) vowed to intensify its oversight on Wednesday following a committee briefing in which the Auditor-General (AG) painted a bleak picture of municipal audit outcomes.
The committee was briefed on municipalities’ audit outcomes for the 2023/24 financial year.
The AG’s report shows persistently poor financial management, with only a few pockets of improvement and progress in some municipalities. Among the damning statistics was that late submissions of financial statements continue, albeit with some improvement, in municipalities in the North West. The figures show that the number of municipalities with disclaimers decreased from 28 in the 2020/21 financial year to 14 in the period under review. This represents a 50% decrease. Additionally, 35% of municipalities received qualified audit opinions, while seven municipalities received adverse opinions due to unreliable financial information. The AG, Ms Tsakani Maluleke, reiterated that the poor audit outcomes raise serious questions about administrative competence and political leadership.
Noting the sobering statistics, the committee raised concerns about the fact that only 16% of municipalities achieved clean audits. This means that almost 85% of municipalities are failing to meet basic governance standards, which is felt in communities.
Committee Chairperson Dr Zweli Mkhize said urgent and systemic intervention is needed to address the worsening local government crisis. “This is not just an audit report,” he said, “it is a mirror held up to our governance structures. The patterns are disturbingly familiar, and our role now is to shift from recognition to consequence.”
The Chairperson highlighted poor political leadership, a lack of accountability and weak consequence management as among the root causes fuelling the poor financial performance. “The issue is not just technical. It is about will and leadership. Even a metro like Johannesburg, which has resources, is unable to submit credible financial statements. That is not a capacity problem – it is a failure of management and oversight.”
He said that where leadership fails to set the tone, instil discipline or act on poor audit findings, the entire governance system collapses. “This is a leadership issue, and it must be treated as such.”
The committee was also alarmed over the 84% of municipalities in the national debt relief support programme, which failed to meet the programme’s conditions. “That’s not just non-compliance – it is a signal that accountability mechanisms are ineffective. We cannot allow indifference and inaction to go unchecked,” the Chairperson said.
Moreover, the committee called for accountability at all levels, including those of mayors, speakers, councils, provincial treasuries and the legislatures. “The entire governance chain – from the municipal council to the National Council of Provinces must do its job. Parliament will lead this effort by intensifying oversight visits to specific municipalities where dysfunction has become entrenched and by working closely with executive structures at all levels. We are no longer interested in excuses. We are calling for performance, for consequence and the prioritisation of service delivery, especially for the most vulnerable communities.”
The Chairperson said the committee stands ready to act on these findings and help break the cycle of dysfunction.
