Dear Editor
Today the Western Cape Provincial Parliament’s Standing Committee on Local Government was briefed by a delegation from the Office of the Auditor-General (AG) on the recently-tabled 2020/2021 Municipal Audit Outcomes.
The AG’s presentation focused on the Western Cape’s results in the municipal audit, which found that 22 of the Western Cape’s municipalities had received clean audits, representing more than half of the clean audits awarded across South Africa. The AG found that almost all of the Western Cape’s district municipalities had improved or maintained their audit outcomes since last year, with only the Central Karoo district municipality having regressed. According to the AG’s delegation, these positive outcomes can be attributed to the “firm leadership tone and strong control environment” as well as the “competent workforce” found within the Western Cape.
The presentation also focused on those few municipalities which did not receive clean audits. The Western Cape saw only three of its municipalities receive qualified audits, and the committee took a keen interest in these. The AG stated that the reasons for these less optimal results were often due to the inability of these municipalities to attract sufficiently skilled staff to ensure financial accountability, as well as occasional political instability in the governing councils. However, the AG’s delegation stated that they had engaged with regional municipal managers, and that they were comfortable with the path forward for these municipalities.
DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Local Government said: “Today’s standing committee meeting was highly encouraging and productive. The results of the Municipal Audit Outcomes are excellent, and show that the Western Cape continues to lead the way in good, accountable, and transparent governance. However, we cannot afford to rest on our laurels. As a provincial government which cares deeply about the wellbeing of our citizens, we must strive for perfection. The goal, as always, remains a 100% rate of unqualified audits for the Western Cape. I look forward to working with the Department of Local Government and the Auditor-General’s Office to ensure that this is achieved.”
Regards
Derrick America, MPP
DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Local Government
