Local Government in extreme distress
More proof has emerged from the Auditor General's office confirming a long held view of this Union; Local Government is in a state of extreme distress. Auditor-general Terence Nombembe told a conference on Monday this week:
"Without proper financial statements, the financial stability of departments and municipalities is threatened and the ability of the government to meet its obligations is at risk.
High risk issues included supply chain management, with only 43% of national government departments succeeding in sticking to regulations and only 22% of municipalities getting it right."
Nombembe went on to say that "the quality of financial statements submitted to his office had regressed, with only 43% of national departments receiving clean audits, and only 18% of municipalities doing so."
The Auditor General's comments are the latest in a line of comments and analysis, which found that a mere 13 or 5% of the 283 Municipalities in the country had received clean audits.