The newly appointed chairperson of the committee, Job Dliso, says although the report is shocking, for now not much can be said by the committee until such time when all due process has been followed. He says they will need to engage relevant structures and come up with ways to deal with issues raised by the AG, Kimi Makwetu’s 2017/18 report. It shows that not one municipality in the province received a clean audit.

Makwetu on Wednesday revealed that irregular expenditure nationwide was down from R29.7 billion in 2016/17, to R25.2 billion in 2017/18. Clean audits were down from 14% in 2016/17, to 8% in 2017/18 with only 18 of 257 municipalities achieving clean audits consistently. Dliso says they will only be able to express themselves fully after tomorrow’s (Friday) state of the province address by Premier Job Mokgoro.

Following the AG’s report on these municipalities, questions are mounting if Mokgoro will take stringent measures to hold the accounting officers accountable following their dismal performance in the 2017/18 report. Makwetu’s report states a total of 74% of municipalities did not adequately follow up allegations of financial and supply chain management misconduct and fraud. He further said 45% of municipalities did not have all the required mechanisms in place for reporting and investigating transgressions or possible fraud. At least four municipalities were found to have illegally invested millions of taxpayer’s money in the now liquidated and controversial VBS Mutual Bank.

Following the investment of a combined R314 million of taxpayers’ money into the VBS Mutual Bank by these municipalities, the provincial government then commissioned a forensic investigation by Sekela Xabanisa CA Inc (SKX) to look into the matter and report back with findings and recommendations into the investments. Xabanisa CA Inc (SKX) found that Madibeng local municipality invested R31 million of its conditional grant.

Mahikeng local municipality invested R83 million, of which R23 million was from the municipal infrastructure grant and R60 million from the municipal equitable share; this was an overpayment from the national department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs. The Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati district municipality invested R150 million, of which R100 million was from the regional infrastructure grant, R25 million from the equitable share-free basic services and R25 million from the building fund. Moretele local municipality invested R50 million from the 2017/2018 water services infrastructure grant.

OFM News