Municipal audits reveal horrifying financial damage done to municipalities by the ANC
23 May 2017
Today, the presentation on key findings of the Municipal Audit report for the 2015/16 financial year has shown the damage done by the ANC to the financial situation at municipalities, where it governs or governed during 2015/16, all over South Africa.
The audit, which interrogated the financial state of municipalities across the country, between 31 July 2015 and 30 June 2016, just before the DA won key municipalities, revealed the following disturbing findings:
- There was a total of almost R17 billion in irregular expenditure in 2015/16, an increase of R5 billion over 2014/15;
- The municipalities failed to notice almost 40% of their own irregular expenditure;
- The North West contributed a staggering 15% of the total irregular expenditure;
- The worst contributor responsible for the irregular expenditure in 2015/16 was OR Tambo District, ANC governed, at R1.56 billion; and
- Over half of all unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure reported was not investigated at all.
The ANC government has been directly responsible for financially crippling these municipalities through thieving and looting. This is money that should have been spent on delivering basic services to the people. Yet it has become abundantly clear that the ANC continues to put its self-interest above the needs of the people.
This is what the DA inherited where we came into government after August 2016 and now the financial situation of these municipalities is fast improving.
In Tshwane, with Mayor Solly Msimanga, the DA has presented the City’s first balanced budget meaning that revenue is equal to expenditure. The City has also embarked on a campaign to generate more income, to allow us to finance more pro-poor projects.
In Nelson Mandela Bay, the DA’s Athol Trollip secured R211 million to take services to approximately 3 000 informal homes over the next financial year. This will see around 12 000, mostly indigent residents, receiving water and sanitation services straight to the home, for the first time. Moreover, 1 900 title deeds will also be handed out to rightful homeowners.
In Johannesburg, Mayor Herman Mashaba created an Internal Investigations Unit in the City which has exposed almost R2 billion in fraud and corruption. While the ANC let corruption flourish, the Mashaba administration is decisively cutting it out.
These are excellent examples that where the DA governs, we implement good, clean governance so that we can deliver services, cut corruption and create jobs.
While the ANC abandons the people and squanders money that should go towards improving the lives of millions of South Africans, DA governments will continue to prioritise what the people voted us into power to do and that is to serve them.
Issued by Kevin Mileham, DA Shadow Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, 23 May 2017
