UNQUALIFIED CFO'S TO BE AXED
Chief Financial Officers who do not meet the qualification requirements for their positions will be axed by September 2014. This is a stern warning issued by the MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nomusa Dube-Ncube at the opening session of the Munimec meeting.
Munimec is an intergovernmental forum where the MEC responsible for Local Government meet with mayors from all the 61 municipalities to evaluate their performance on key development areas on a quarterly basis. At this intergovernmental platform, the provincial government takes up technical and political issues with various local government stakeholders. The Munimec has resolved to uphold the September 2015 deadline by which all municipal CFOs must provide proof of qualifications.
There are national norms and standards that have been set for anyone who is a Chief Financial Officer in a municipality. "Municipal CFOs must either prove that they have the necessary qualifications to do the job or go. We cannot afford to entrust big financial resources on officials who lack relevant competences as this contributes to financial mismanagement and compromises service delivery," said KZN MEC for Cogta Nomusa Dube-Ncube during an intensive two-day engagement with the province's mayors and municipal managers.
The MuniMec has also resolved to take a tough line on CFOs whose municipalities continue to receive poor audit opinions from the Auditor-General, including audit qualifications which suggest that their municipal finances are not being managed adequately.
"The buck must stop somewhere and when it comes to municipal finances it must stop with CFOs. It is our intention to ensure that those responsible for gross incompetence or a lack of commitment bear the consequences," said Dube-Ncube.
The Munimec which ends tomorrow received progress from each District Municipality on the state of water supply and expressed satisfaction with the progress being made in the delivery of water. It is expected that KZN municipalities will spend in excess of R5billion in this financial year on infrastructure which will see more people being supplied with electricity, water and sanitation. KZN has to date supplied these essential services to more than 88% people.
Statement issued by KZN Cogta spokesperson Lennox Mabaso, October 16 2014
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