Following the report which shows the negative trends in municipalities across the province, AG Tsakani Maluleke, in her recent audit report, says there is a need for the implementation of consequence management where required. This as all 22 municipalities in the province failed to obtain a single clean audit. Some either obtained unqualified opinions, qualified opinions with findings, or disclaimed opinions. 

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Maluleke says this downward spiral shows a worsening culture of accountability over this period. Maluleke adds that the quality of performance reporting is also concerning, especially since most municipalities reported that they had not achieved their set targets, indicating inadequate service delivery.

“These critical accountability tools must be properly reviewed by internal audit units and audit committees. They must also be submitted on time. Municipalities continued to flout legislated requirements, which resulted in irregular expenditure. Compliance transgressions remained widespread and were reported at 100% of the municipalities with completed audits,” Tsakani adds.

The municipalities in the province continued to spend millions of rands on consultants for work that can be done internally by municipal workers.

ALSO READ: NW municipalities continue to 'spend millions on consultants, despite warnings'

Addressing Members of Parliament (MPs) during a joint virtual meeting, Maluleke said the AG previously reported that all 22 municipalities in the province were, according to the report, making use of consultants in addition to their financial staff complement, leading to wasteful expenditure. A total of R277,7 million was spent by municipalities in the province during the 2019/20 financial year alone.

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