Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke has issued an impassioned plea on political leaders, - at a national, provincial and local level - to lead by example and ensure the aims of clean local governance are realised.
Corruption, mismanagement and lack of service delivery continue to be a big problem for the majority of municipalities, in spite of many years attempts to get municipalities out of the wood works.
This comes after her report on the audit outcomes of municipalities 2022/2023 revealed that only 34 municipalities got clean audits, following a briefing at the Portfolio Committee on Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
The Auditor-General said despite the commitments made in response to the call for municipalities to be more responsible, action towards good governance had been too slow with little impact on the lived realities of ordinary South Africans.
“As a result, I can report only on pockets of improvement. Continued excellence at municipalities that maintained their clean audit status, and a reduction in the number of municipalities with disclaimed audit opinions, offer a further glimmer of hope. Otherwise, there is still little to celebrate.
“Two years into the administrative term, some metros still have instability in their councils and struggle to take the lead in ensuring service delivery to all their residents in a financially responsible manner.
“At those municipalities that have not managed to move out of the disclaimed space, the lack of transparency, accountability and institutional integrity not only leads to non-delivery of services, but also harms the people these municipalities are intended to serve. Little attention is paid to credible reporting on municipal performance, which is a key enabler of service delivery, transparency and accountability,” she said.
In a media statement following the briefing, Maluleke revealed that only 34 of South Africa’s 257 metropolitan, district and local municipalities received clean audit outcomes.
She urged local government leaders, political party heads, premiers and mayors to lead by example and ensure that systems are put in place to realise an improved local government sphere.
“My call is for urgent action and is again directed to the political leadership of municipalities. There is limited time left in their term to leave a legacy of improved governance and delivery.
“National and provincial government, including the premiers and the members of the executive council for local government and finance, have shown strong support to municipalities – which was often the reason for improvements in audit outcomes in this financial year.
“If this momentum is interrupted by the change in administration at national and provincial level after the elections, it will affect the progress being made. I therefore call for stability in the institutions supporting local government and urge them to continue and further intensify their efforts in monitoring, supporting and overseeing this sphere of government,” she said.
The Star