Article 1 - AGSA
Article 1 - AGSA
MUNICIPAL AUDIT
Illustrative image | Sources: Auditor-General of South Africa Tsakani Maluleke. (Photo: Phill
Magakoe) / Residents from the settlement Gatvol in Heidedal protest during a shutdown on 18 May
2021 in Bloemfontein. (Photo: Gallo Images / Volksblad / Mlungisi Louw) | Houses of Parliament.
(Photo: Leila Dogan ) | Adobe Stock
By Marianne Merten
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22 Jun 2021 22
Just 27 of South Africa’s 257 municipalities have a clean bill of financial health,
according to the local government 2019/20 audit. That’s 10 less than in 2017
when the present crop of municipal politicians came into office. Some R5.5bn
was spent — without anyone able to say what for.
BeyondWords
Four months before the 2021 local government elections scheduled for 27
October, the state of municipalities is dire. According to Tuesday’s local
government audit outcomes briefing to MPs, just more than a quarter of
South Africa’s municipalities, or 27%, themselves say they don’t know if
they can continue — and almost one in four councils, or 57, failed to deliver
any kind of financial statement by the statutory audit deadline.
The good news is that there are 27 municipalities with clean audits,
including one of the eight metros, Ekurhuleni.