KZN MUNICIPALITIES EXCEED EXPECTATIONS WITH SEVEN CLEAN AUDITS
KwaZulu-Natal's 61 municipalities have trumped all expectations of the provincial Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) by scoring seven clean audits amid 19 improvements and a significant drop in disclaimers during the latest financial year under review.
This is revealed in the latest audit outcomes for the municipal period 2012/2013 which were handed over to municipalities this week.
This is a huge jump compared to the fact that in the last municipal audits the province only recorded one clean audit.
"The seven clean audits for KZN municipalities is the best result this province has seen to date and the culmination of steady improvements, many of which have been achieved under close co-operation between individual municipalities and COGTA," said KZN MEC for COGTA Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
KZN COGTA is delighted with the seven clean audits for Uthungulu District, Umhlathuze, Ntambanana, Ubuhlebezwe, Umzimkhulu Okhahlamba and Msinga Municipalities together with additional clean audits for most municipal entities against the backdrop of 19 improvements in audit outcomes for the province's 61 municipalities and the substantial drop in the overall number of audit queries as well as audit disclaimers. Uthungulu District was the best performing district and obtained three out of the seven clean audits within the district with the remaining three municipalities receiving unqualified audit opinions.
"A number of KZN municipalities have improved markedly, with some turning the corner from a disclaimer to an unqualified audit, such as the Jozini local municipality, and others, such as the uMkhanyakude district municipality, progressing from a disclaimer to a qualified audit," said Dube-Ncube.
Clean audits now account for more than 10 percent of KZN's municipalities, up from an average of 5 percent nationally for the past three years. The latest municipal audit outcomes for the province also show that more auditees improved than regressed, which points to improvements in municipal performance as well as COGTA's support.
Our congratulations go to the administrative and political leadership of these successful municipalities and the challenge would be to sustain these results in the current financial year.
The latest audit results are a huge slap in the face to those who mischievously downplay such solid achievements and prefer to spread false propaganda on COGTA's municipal interventions.
"The few remaining technical challenges have to do with municipal asset management which is still a recurring audit issue along with revenue-related matters. Both of these areas will receive additional targeted support from COGTA as we analyse the latest audit outcomes with municipalities on an individual basis," said Dube-Ncube.
Statement issued by KZN COGTA spokesperson Lennox Mabaso, December 4 2013
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