Disturbed by Treasury Report on Municipalities

We have noted that extracts of the Treasury Report on the Audit Outcomes of Municipalities released yesterday that have been reported in the press today. There are 262 municipalities in South Africa and we have membership in every one of these municipalities.

We have a keen interest in wanting to know the status of financial management of municipalities, not least because it directly impacts on a number of the issues that we are currently pursuing as part of our national campaign, especially in terms of taking action against corruption and for increased service delivery.

We are particular concerned about the following revealing points that have been released from the report, namely that:

• 46 municipalities have not issued audit reports,
• 70 percent of financial information from municipalities is unusable,
• 48% of financial information submitted by municipalities is not trustworthy and
• Almost 25% of municipalities can't produce the necessary supporting documentation.

These details are in themselves very disturbing. How can we ensure that corruption is tackled if basic fundamental accounting practices are not in place, which is made worse by the appointment of cronies in municipalities without proper qualifications. 

How can we ensure that precious resources are not misdirected into the pockets of labour brokers and instead not utilised for the purposes they were intended? Is it any wonder that a great deal of suspicion is allowed to fester in our poor communities about the misuse of local government funding?

We will of course analyse the full report when it is published, and make our own assessment of what needs to be done to ensure that our municipalities are corruption free, and that the services that our people need can be delivered effectively, and as promised. What has still to be revealed, when the full report is made public, as it must be, is what progress has been made since the last Treasury Report and what lessons can be drawn from this.

Statement issued by SAMWU's Deputy General Secretary; Walter Theledi, May 12 2011

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