POLOKWANE – The Polokwane Municipality has rejected claims of R400m in financial mismanagement allegedly contained in the Auditor-General’s report, following recent statements by ActionSA.

Municipal spokesperson Thipa Selala said the report does not support the allegations.

“There is nowhere in the AG report where it says there is R400m financial mismanagement,” Selala stated.

This comes after ActionSA claimed the Auditor-General’s findings revealed a R400m financial crisis in the municipality, citing wasteful expenditure, rising utility losses and alleged mismanagement.

Party calls for lifestyle audits

On February 5, the party issued a warning and called for “immediate and mandatory lifestyle audits for ANC councillors and MMCs across all Limpopo local municipalities.”

ActionSA argued that so-called “clean audits” promoted by the ANC mask deeper financial problems.

Party spokesperson Victor Mothemela said the Auditor-General had effectively warned that while reports were being “sanitised”, the municipality was facing financial strain linked to R400m in mismanagement.

“Polokwane officials are presiding over a cesspool of corruption while infrastructure deteriorates, water sources run dry, and roads break apart,” Mothemela said.

He added that ActionSA would appoint independent investigators to conduct lifestyle audits in Polokwane.

According to Mothemela, the probe will include members of the mayoral committee who oversee multi-billion-rand budgets, with the aim of identifying discrepancies between their official income and personal lifestyles.

“We will report all forensic findings collected by our independent investigators to the South African Police Service and the Special Investigating Unit, with the intention that they are held criminally and legally responsible,” he said.

DA flags service delivery concerns

The DA has also raised concerns about declining service delivery despite the municipality receiving an improved audit outcome.

Financial spokesperson Jacques Joubert said residents have yet to see tangible improvements.

“National Treasury norms require municipalities to spend at least 8% of their budget on maintenance, yet Polokwane spent only 5% during the year under review,” Joubert said, warning that water infrastructure is failing and roads are deteriorating.

The DA furthermore urged residents to register to vote ahead of the upcoming local government elections.