The South African Government Association (Salga) yesterday called on the 45% of municipalities that received poor audit outcomes to work hard to turn around municipal financial management and governance.

Salga said the 2021/2022 auditor-general’s Municipal Financial Management Act 56 of 2003 audit outcomes show that 142 municipalities, representing 55% of all municipalities, received clean and unqualified audits in the 2021/2022 financial year.

“These municipalities were responsible for more than R351b, or 66% of the overall local government budget of R530b. Put simply, this means that for every R100 under the management of local government, local government has produced trustworthy financial statements for R66 of this R100.”

Salga said the fact that local government could not produce credible financial statements for about a third of the finances under its control is a cause for concern.

Salga called on municipalities to take ‘stern action against non-submission of financial statements and eliminating and recovering monies lost through irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure’.

Salga also congratulated the ‘pockets of excellence, who have consistently, without fail, achieved clean audits since the 2016/17 financial year to date’ for their exemplary work. Among these municipalities is just one from KZN – the Okhahlamba Local Municipality.

The others included four in the Western Cape (Cape Winelands District Municipality, Overstrand Local Municipality, Witzenberg Local Municipality and Cape Agulhas Local Municipality), and Midvaal Local Municipality in Gauteng.