POLOKWANE – The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta)’s MEC Mr Ishmael Kgetjepe revealed that his department has achieved a clean audit. Kgetjepe told this to media representatives who convened at Polokwane Royal on December 4.
“As you would rightfully recall, government signed a pledge committing its spheres of government to achieving clean-audit outcomes by the year 2014 in 2009. This commitment has been hard to achieve and it is a concern for everyone as municipalities are a strategic sphere of government, focused on growing local economies, providing infrastructure and basic service delivery.”
Kgetjepe said that the municipalities in the province have the highest backlog in basic services, are financially distressed and have the highest number of informal settlements. He highlighted that his department is on a quest to help municipalities that are experiencing undesirable audit outcomes and financial problems.
“The department has commissioned over a three-year period the services of financial accounting firms under the resident accountant project to provide technical financial management and hands-on support to municipalities. These acccounting firms assist municipalities to address audit issues while building sufficient capacity to improve and stabilise financial management.”
The MEC admitted that some municipalities have challenges with non-compliance with supply-chain management processes, unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditures.
“Municipalities have shown signs of being in financial distress. Most received negative audit outcomes due to lack of internal controls, lack of basic skills and non-compliance with relevant legislation. Others owe water boards and Eskom. Most are not implementing provincial debt-dorum resolutions,” he added.
He said Cogta will ensure that municipalities improve their record management, conduct frequent bank reconciliations and also compliance with supply-chain management.
