Tshwane aims to implement robust accountability measures following unfavourable audit report

In response to the alarming findings by the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) of the 2023/24 audit report around unauthorised expenditure and governance failures in Tshwane, the new administration led by Mayor Nasiphi Moya, has moved swiftly to implement accountability measures.

This comes after the report revealed R3.6-billion in unauthorised expenditure as well as ongoing governance failures.

Determined to restore financial integrity, Moya convened the Tshwane Consequence Management Committee (CMC) on January 29.

The CMC has been tasked with addressing misconduct and financial mismanagement, introducing a wave of reforms.

These include the conclusion of 180 forensic investigations, which have led to 129 disciplinary actions against city employees and 39 criminal referrals.

The administration’s focus on tackling these issues marks a shift in governance culture, with the mayor emphasising that accountability will no longer be compromised.

This included 48 cases identified for financial recovery and flagged irregularities in the metro’s operations, further emphasised by stagnation in audit outcomes.

The state of financial management, according to the report, stemmed from a long history of administrative failures that have allowed such practices to continue unchecked.

The mayor’s reaction has been one of urgency, as she prioritises the clean-up of financial and administrative failings.

One of the main goals is to change the root causes of inefficiency that have led to the city’s stagnation in audit outcomes.

The backlog of over 1 000 forensic investigations, inherited from previous administrations, is being addressed to prevent further erosion of governance standards.

By strengthening oversight, the city hopes to curb further misconduct and uphold its responsibility to residents.

An additional 70 cases have been referred to the Financial Disciplinary Board, marking the first time that such referrals have been made, further bolstering the city’s financial oversight framework.

Moya emphasised that her administration is taking firm steps to address prolonged suspensions within the city’s workforce, which have led to significant financial strain.

Currently, the city spends R30-million a year on suspended employees, and steps are being taken to expedite disciplinary processes.

The mayor has also pledged that any further irregularities and corruption will be dealt with harshly, ensuring that Tshwane’s financial management is held to the highest ethical standards.

Moya said to embed a culture of accountability and excellence and ensure proper consequence management going forward, the metro will take firm action in several areas.

“We are changing the culture of governance by addressing the root causes of non-performance, as highlighted by the AGSA.

“We are clearing the backlog of investigations, including over 1 000 forensic reports inherited by my administration, many of which had not been acted upon,” said Moya.

She said the metro will reduce wasteful expenditure on precautionary suspensions, as the metro is currently spending R30-million cumulatively on prolonged suspensions due to delays in disciplinary processes.

“This administration will not tolerate corruption, financial mismanagement or inefficiency. We remain committed to ensuring that Tshwane is governed with integrity, and I look forward to updating residents on our continued progress in strengthening accountability, improving financial governance and ensuring that every public servant upholds the highest ethical standards.”

Political parties have different viewpoints on the audit report, with Freedom Front (FF) Plus spokesperson Peter Meijer saying the audit outcome exposed a lot of problems within the metro.

“There’s still too many irregular expenditures and I think there’s not enough oversight being done by the committees.

“Service delivery is still the main issue in the city. We have about 30% losses on electricity and more than 20% losses on water. Losses mean the electricity and water we purchase, but we can’t bill.”

Meijer said the metro needs to finalise the disciplinary cases so it can save more money.

Republican Conference of Tshwane councillor Lex Middelberg told Rekord the audit outcome proved the metro hasn’t improved its cash flow since last year.

“There is no cultural shift because to solve the problem of the city, you need to bring the expenditure of the city to be lower than the actual cash flow income.

“If you do not have more money available than the actual expenditure, then you cannot meet your expenditure. It doesn’t help that you budgeted for R50-billion and collected R39-billion.

DA Caucus leader Cilliers Brink mentioned that during his time in office, the former administration improved from an adverse to a qualified audit, and cleared the majority of multi-year material irregularities.

“We did so by bringing in a new CFO and stringently monitoring the audit at the mayoral committee level.

“It would seem that after our removal from office in September last year, these tracking meetings stopped completely.”

He said the municipal public accounts committee has also not had an ordinary meeting since it elected an EFF chairperson.

“What is important is that city manager Johann Mettler receives the full backing of the political leadership when he has to take action against implicated officials.

“Given the attacks on Mettler by the EFF and the forced resignation of one of his deputies, we have serious concerns about the prospects of good governance in Tshwane.”

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