EFF statement on the release of Local Government Audit outcome by Auditor General South Africa
28 August 2024
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) notes the release of the Local Government 2022-23 audit outcome by the Auditor General South Africa (AGSA). The AGSA correctly demonstrates, through the audit outcome, that her call for courageous, ethical, accountable, and citizen-centric leadership to overhaul a local government characterised by insufficient accountability, failing service delivery, instability, and corruption fell on deaf ears as the situation continues.
We note the audit outcome report demonstrates that there is very little attention paid to credible reporting on municipal performance. This is made worse by the lack of transparency and accountability which leads to poor service delivery and corruption.
The AGSA audit outcome report shows that only 34 municipalities obtained a clean audit, which accounts for 13% of all municipalities in the country. This is in addition to 36 municipalities that regressed. What is alarming about the audit outcome is the fact that the biggest challenge for many municipalities is compliance with legislation, particularly procurement legislation.
There are still municipalities that receive a disclaimer audit outcome, which means these municipalities are failing to provide sufficient evidence for any audit to be conducted. This is made worse by the increase in the number of unqualified and outstanding audits. While these audits do not immediately signal a crisis, it is in such situations that corruption and poor service delivery thrive.