Municipal Audit Outcomes: WC local governments ‘in good health’ but we must do more
The Western Cape Provincial Ministers of Finance and Local Government, Deidré Baartman and Anton Bredell, today welcomed the release of the Auditor General of South Africa's (AGSA) Consolidated General Report on Local Government Audit Outcomes for 2022/2023.
The report revealed that the 20 municipalities in the Western Cape achieved an unqualified audit with no findings (clean audits) and 6 municipalities achieved an unqualified audit with findings.
“While there has been a slight regression in the number of Western Cape municipalities with clean audits in the 2022/2023 financial year, the fact that 17 municipalities were able to sustain their clean audit status is commendable. The results speak to the strong financial controls within these municipalities and highlights the hard work of officials within a difficult fiscal environment,” said Minister Baartman.
The AGSA report noted that the financial statements of the 26 municipalities in the Western Cape that received unqualified audits were “reassuring” considering that “these municipalities were responsible for 98% of the province’s R92,61 billion municipal expenditure budget”. The Western Cape Government (WCG) also notes the AGSA’s assessment that 18 of these municipalities were in good financial health.
“These results, however, still highlight the work that needs to be done in ensuring sound financial management to improve service delivery within local governments across the Western Cape. Clean audits are not merely a measure of good governance and financial management, they also speak directly to service delivery and the improvement of residents’ lives,” said Minister Baartman.
Premier Alan Winde added, “We all work incredibly hard towards maintaining our solid track record of good governance in the Western Cape, and we must continue striving to do better. We are working in an increasingly difficult economic climate, and it is encouraging to see so many of our municipalities managing their finances responsibly. We do this for our residents. With every Rand that is spent, we must be transparent, agile, and innovative.”
The WCG also noted Bitou and Oudtshoorn Municipalities improving their audit outcomes over the 2022/2023 financial year to achieve clean audit outcomes. We are hopeful that this achievement will be sustained and that the municipalities will continue to rigorously implement its audit action plans.
The two qualified audit outcomes in Knysna and Beaufort West Municipalities, the adverse audit outcome in Laingsburg Municipality, and the outstanding audit in Kannaland Municipality is a cause for concern. The continued administrative and political adversity in these municipalities has placed their financial health at serious risk.
Anton Bredell, Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning congratulated the 26 municipalities which achieved unqualified audits. “Disciplined financial management is the foundation for quality service delivery to our residents. Municipalities with qualified audit outcomes remains a concern, as we can see the direct link between weak financial management and poor service delivery in those municipalities. We remain committed to providing support to these municipalities so they can turn themselves around,” said Minster Bredell.
Provincial Treasury and the Provincial Department of Local Government have worked to assist struggling municipalities such as Beaufort West and Kannaland. A Financial Recovery Plan has been imposed in Beaufort West while a Financial Recovery Plan in Kannaland is in its development stage.
Furthermore, the Department of Local Government, on a continuous basis, conduct focused capacity training to improve and sustain governance and accountability in municipalities, provide legal guidance and advice, and offer transversal training for officials and councillors, among other support measures.
The WCG will continue to play its role in assisting local governments in the Western Cape to not only improve their financial health, but ultimately also improve the access to and quality of service delivery across municipalities in the Province.
JOINT MEDIA RELEASE by Western Cape Minister of Finance, Deidré Baartman, and Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell
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