The report released by Auditor-General, Kimi Makwetu, indicated that the majority of the 257 municipalities across the country are not performing well, with irregular expenditure having increased from R16.2 billion to R28.3 billion in the past year. Only 33 of the 257 municipalities received clean audits for the 2016/17 financial year.

The report also indicates that municipalities that require intervention are mostly found in the Free State, North West, and the Northern Cape.

The Free State, which has been under Magashule’s watch for a long time in his capacity when he was still the Premier and ANC Chairperson, is currently the province with the highest Eskom debt and defaulting municipalities. The province owes the power utility more than R6.5 billion, which is the highest amount owed by municipalities across the country. It’s two municipalities, namely the Matjhabeng Local Municipality and Mangaung Metro Municipality, is counted among the top 10 municipalities in the AG report with high irregular expenditure.

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