NELSPRUIT – Ehlanzeni District Municipality (EDM) has resolved to deploy its managers to aid the five local municipalities under its jurisdiction in obtaining clean audit reports by the Auditor-General (AG).
The executive mayor of EDM, Cllr Letta Shongwe, last week expressed concern about the operation of local municipalities during the mid-term budget lekgotla held by the district on January 14 to 16. EDM has received clean audits for four consecutive years.
“As mayor of EDM, I can gladly say with pride that we have been living our dream of achieving a clean audit report for the past four years,” Shongwe said. “But looking at the way our local municipalities are performing, it becomes a matter of serious concern that needs our urgent attention.”
Mbombela, Nkomazi, Thaba Chweu, Umjindi and Bushbuckridge local municipalities are located in EDM and attended the lekgotla. Last year, not one of them received a clean audit from the AG’s office.
Shongwe pleaded with them to be receptive to accommodate the officials EDM deployed to assist. Mr Lucky Ngomane, from EDM’s communication department, confirmed the leadership of all the local municipalities supported the move.
The resolutions taken during the meeting was that EDM would deploy its managers in the finance, corporate services, technical services, local economic development, rural development and tourism, municipal health and environmental management, and disaster management and social services departments to all local municipalities.
“They are going to provide support to local municipalities as per EDM’s mandate in their areas of proficiency,” Ngomane explained. “Their deployment to local municipalities will not see them take over their function but will fulfil part of their mandate of providing support to locals to assist them to obtain better audit opinion reports from the AG in the next one.”
Mr Joseph Ngala, spokesman for Mbombela Local Municipality (MLM), confirmed that Cllr Cathy Dlamini, executive mayor of MLM, attended the meeting. “The municipality will gladly welcome any assistance from another sphere of government that will assist us to improve on our performance,” he said.
