Audit Outcomes of Municipalities: Auditor-General & Accountant-General reports 2006-2007

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Here is a summary:
The Accountant-General and the Auditor-General briefed the Parliamentary Monitoring Group for Finance on the 2006/2007 audit outcomes of municipalities.

It was noted that of the nine provinces, only four provinces (Western Cape, Gauteng, Northern Cape and Mpumalanga) had submitted their financial reports on time. Limpopo (53%) recorded the lowest percentage of submissions.

The Accountant-General said that many municipalities did not have the internal capacity to adequately manage their financial reports, but did note that there had been a slight improvement by provinces in terms of adverse opinions and disclaimers.

He said that the interventions made in Western Cape and Gauteng had been important as delegated municipalities were no longer in existence, regular workshops were held, strong leadership and support was forthcoming from the provincial government and National Treasury, and in Gauteng retired experienced officials were deployed to municipalities to provide assistance.

The Auditor General had identified six best practices indicators, which he outlined. Many municipalities had problems with compliance as they did not have the relevant capacity to address their challenges. Lack of proper oversight and supervision was also identified as problematic. He urged municipalities to cease their suspicion of deployed officials, and said that political officials should enforce proper management of public funds entrusted to them.

They also mentioned the fact that the local municipalities were not seen as attractive job prospects and political infighting as constraints.