According to the Provincial Legislature’s chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), Job Dliso, the municipality has not been handling its finances in accordance with legislation and has also failed to produce records pertaining to these finances, amongst others. The statement by Dliso comes as the municipality is on Wednesday set to be in the spotlight during a meeting with the committee over the 2020/21 audit reports. In June 2022, the Auditor-General (AG), Tsakani Maluleke, told Members of Parliament (MPs) that almost half (43%) of the money spent by North West municipalities was spent irregularly.

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Dliso also adds that the committee will seek clarity on the responses to questions emanating from the AG reports.

“In May 2022, we also notified the Municipal Manager of the Ngaka Modiri Molema (North West) – the district municipality responsible for the maintenance and operation of wastewater treatment sites – of material irregularities at three sites in Ramotshere Moiloa. We are further considering material irregularities for the wastewater treatment sites of the other repeatedly disclaimed municipalities,” Maluleke said in her report.

Maluleke has since indicated in her latest report that the municipality failed to monitor a contract for construction work to the municipal office building and gatehouse, resulting in a contract extension that included items already paid for as part of the original contract.

These 22 municipalities also either obtained unqualified opinions, qualified opinions with findings or disclaimed opinions, making them one of the worst-performing provinces.

ALSO READ: 22 North West municipalities fail to obtain clean audits

“The lack of improvement in municipal outcomes is an indictment of the entire local government's accountability ecosystem, which failed to act and arrest the decline that continued to be characterised by service delivery challenges in municipalities”.

“As the national audit office, we have a vision, shared by many, for this new administration to make significant strides towards instilling in local government a culture of performance, accountability, transparency and integrity,” Maluleke said. She further said the new administration must instil a culture of performance, accountability, transparency and integrity.

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