Focus on changes to audit bill after shock local government findings
The latest findings show an overall deterioration in finances and further plundering by officials
Only 13% of SA’s municipalities have received a clean audit. On Wednesday, Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu published the latest local government audit findings, which show an overall deterioration in municipal finances between 2015-16 and 2016-17. Only 33 of the country’s 257 municipalities received a clean audit in 2016-17, compared with 48 the year before. Audit outcomes of 45 municipalities deteriorated and a mere 16 municipalities improved. The audit outcomes reflected the first year of newly elected councils after the reduction of municipalities from 278 to 257 and the local government elections held in August 2016. The report showed a surge in irregular expenditure, which rose 75% to R28.4bn in 2016-17, up from R16.2bn the year before. Makwetu said R15bn of the total reported for 2016-17 related to irregular expenditure in prior years that had gone undetected until now. Repeated advice and warnings to officials charged with the oversight of municipal spending over the past five y...
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