The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) in the Ekurhuleni Metro Council has raised concerns following the City’s qualified audit opinion from the Auditor-General (AG) for the 2024/25 financial year.
According to the party, the outcome indicates that certain financial information could not be verified or is not credible.
VF Plus stated that the audit result follows a dispute lodged by the Metro with the AG, which it claims unnecessarily prolonged the process and highlights ongoing weaknesses in financial management and internal controls.
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Councillor Denise Janse van Rensburg said the findings remain a cause for concern.
“What is even more concerning is the fact that the report confirms irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, meaning that taxpayers’ money is still being misappropriated without those responsible facing consequences,” she said.
Janse van Rensburg added that the ruling ANC-led administration has attributed the qualified audit opinion largely to the reported R2bn loss linked to the City’s information and communication technology (ICT) systems.
She noted that while the matter led to the suspension of Chief Information Officer Moloko Monyepao, concerns remain over more than 1 600 accounts allegedly tampered with.
The party further highlighted what it described as a weakening financial position, noting a deficit of R656m at the end of the financial year, compared with a surplus of R545m at the start of the year.
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Additional concerns raised include declining revenue collection, underperformance in electricity revenue, and a drop in traffic fine income attributed to a dysfunctional traffic management system. Rising expenditure on bulk purchases, outsourced services, and personnel costs was also cited.
“Despite this, certain departments, such as Service Delivery Coordination, achieved 0% of their targets without accountability. This indicates not only financial strain, but a serious governance and accountability crisis,” she said.
The Freedom Front Plus has called for urgent intervention at the management level to restore financial discipline, improve revenue collection, and ensure accountability.
In a statement, the office of the executive mayor said it acknowledges the audit outcome with “seriousness, candour, and a firm commitment to accountability and corrective action”.
The City attributed the qualified audit opinion primarily to control weaknesses within its ICT systems, particularly the Solar and Siyakhokha platforms used for billing and financial data.
According to the statement, these systems lacked adequate audit logs, access controls and monitoring, which affected the reliability of certain financial information.
The City confirmed that consequence management has been implemented, including the suspension of the Chief Information Officer, and that a remediation plan is underway. This includes the introduction of tamper-proof audit logs, improved access controls and enhanced system monitoring.
A broader review of the City’s enterprise resource planning systems is also in progress to align with best practices in municipal financial management.
The municipality noted positive outcomes in other areas, including a clean audit for the Ekurhuleni Housing Company and an unqualified audit opinion, with no material findings, for the City’s Annual Performance Report.
The statement further noted that no additional unauthorised, irregular, fruitless or wasteful expenditure was identified in the current review, and that the City remains financially stable and able to continue as a going concern.
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The City said it is implementing time-bound interventions to strengthen governance, improve revenue collection and restore the integrity of its financial systems as part of its Operation Clean Audit programme.
Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza reiterated the City’s commitment to transparency and accountability, stating that corrective measures are already underway to address both current and historical challenges.
