DA’s image at stake over governance in metros, says analyst
Auditor-general flags irregular expenditure of more than R10bn in Tshwane after opposition pledges to clean up municipal government
Image: ESA ALEXANDER
Poor audit controls that resulted in more than R10bn of irregular expenditure in the Tshwane metro could have “severe implications” for the DA’s image as a senior party in the coalitions running Gauteng metros, according to a political analyst.
Auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke’s report for the 2021/2022 financial year found that the capital city didn’t have adequate systems for identifying and disclosing all irregular expenditure, which the metro valued at more than R10.4bn.
According to the report, allegations of financial misconduct weren’t investigated, and the issue was worsened by poor internal controls, a lack of proper management of the metro’s assets and no efficient systems to detect irregular expenditure.
The findings threaten the financial viability of the Tshwane coalition which, together with Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg, came under DA-led coalitions after the 2021 municipal elections.
The irregularities flagged by the auditor-general have “severe implications, not just for municipal governance, but also for the DA’s image as a governing party in these metros”, Wits University political analyst Prof Susan Booysen said on Wednesday.
The DA took over the running of the Gauteng metros promising clean and more efficient government, and to speed up service delivery after the ANC failed to secure an outright majority.
The poor financial controls in Tshwane mirror those experienced by most municipalities in the country, which are hamstrung by corruption, malfeasance and maladministration, often resulting in a failure to honour service delivery commitments.
The auditor-general’s findings also cast the spotlight on the DA’s commitment to clean governance as Ekurhuleni and Joburg have also had cash flow challenges. Both metros were in the red by more than R2bn in September 2022 and struggling to pay service providers.
This has also seen rubbish uncollected across Ekurhuleni’s sprawling townships and suburbs for days on end.
In the case of Joburg, the ANC and other smaller parties in council blocked attempts to approve a R2bn loan from the Development Bank of Southern Africa to help SA’s richest metro meet its financial obligations to service providers, pay staff salaries and service its 6-million residents.
Booysen said the financial viability of most municipalities in SA was “dismal”, adding that the wellbeing of the Gauteng metros was of utmost importance as they were central to the national economy.
Gauteng is SA’s economic powerhouse and contributes about 40% to GDP.
In Tshwane, the DA is running the metro in coalition with the IFP, ActionSA, COPE, ACDP, and Freedom Front Plus.
In a joint statement, the multiparty coalition running Tshwane — the DA, the IFP, ActionSA, COPE, the ACDP, and Freedom Front Plus — said an oversight group met on Monday to discuss reports from the Tshwane mayoral committee on the adverse audit outcome for the 2021/2022 financial year.
“All political parties remain unequivocal in their view that the audit outcome was unacceptable by the higher standards of a group of parties working to reverse the legacy of failed ANC governance,” the coalition’s Corné Mulder said.
“The meeting received compelling information that a number of audit findings arose from the seemingly deliberate actions of the former CFO [Umar Banda] to mislead the structures of the city of Tshwane and undersupply available information to the auditor-general,” Mulder added.
“We are addressing all relevant issues about what transpired, we had our first meeting [on Monday]. We take this very seriously. There will be consequences, but first we need to understand what exactly happened,” Mulder told Business Day.
Tshwane mayor Randall Williams has said criminal charges would be laid against Banda, whose contract was terminated in December 2022.
When contacted for comment, Banda said: “I’m not making any comments on the issue; I’m busy with my legal team, which is crafting a way forward.”
DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga said: “I will not be able to comment until the whole matter has been dealt with by the task team. There will be a statement that will be issued on the process and what the recommendations would be.”
Gauteng department of co-operative governance and traditional affairs spokesperson Lupi Ngcayisa was quoted in the media as saying his department was still studying the auditor-general’s to come up with appropriate action that will assist the city in dealing with the findings.