Electricity valued at R28,7 million was stolen due to illegal connections in Endumeni in the 2014/15 financial year.
This, and the provision of R67,8-million, due to the recoverability of bad debt being considered ‘very doubtful’, meant that Endumeni Municipality again received a ‘financially unqualified opinion with findings’.
This was said by a representative of the Auditor General’s office, Mr Sithole, at last week’s Council meeting.
The municipality has received similar ratings for the past three years.
Mr Sithole mentioned that this status is just under the much sought-after so-called clean audit findings that municipalities strive for.

However, Mr Sithole said the Council can be happy that the situation is ‘stable’ at the municipality.

However, it was the fact that management did not ‘adequately review the road planned performing indicators in the service delivery budget implementation plan, to ensure that the indicators were in line with the expected service delivery mandate’ that the municipality did not achieve 100%. There were also concerns that the IT department was not inline with official guidelines but this should improve since the appointment of an IT manager.

There were also concerns that the IT department was not inline with official guidelines but this should improve since the appointment of an IT manager.

There were also concerns that the IT department was not inline with official guidelines but this should improve since the appointment of an IT manager.
However, Mr Sithole said the Council can be happy that the situation is ‘stable’ at the municipality.
The huge theft of electricity, which was come down since the Council employed consultants to audit every electrical meter in the municipal area, continues to be of concern.
But with election fever brewing, those who spoke to the Courier feared that the crack-down on power thieves will ease as political parties attempt to woo voters.
Mayor Thulani Mahaye expressed his appreciation to the staff who worked hard to ‘fly Endumeni’s flag high’. “We are on the doorstep of a clean audit. We have only spent 8,6% of the State’s Municipal Infrastructural Grant (up until December 2015) but we know there were some technicalities… we have overcome these and I am confident that by June 2016 we would have spent 100% of this grant to ensure a better life for all residents.”

Councillor Anthon Raubenheimer also expressed concern that 96% of the subsistence and travel budget had already been spent by December and with six months to go before the end of the financial year, Council only has R33 000 left of the R900 000 allocated to spend on S and T.