Pretoria - Tshwane mayor Randall Williams was yesterday expected to lead his team of MMCs in a meeting scheduled for last night, to brief the multiparty coalition’s national structure about the auditor-general’s (AG) adverse audit report stemming from the municipality’s disastrous financial management.
The 2021/22 financial year report, which was leaked last week, presented a bleak picture of the City’s financial management, with irregular expenditure of R10.4 billion and fruitless and wasteful expenditure understated by R1bn.
The AG was unhappy that the City failed to properly account for assets worth more than R52bn, and more than R800 million was not properly accounted for leave payments.
Generally, the City’s quality of financial reporting was found to be out of keeping with the Standards of Generally Recognised Accounting Practice (GRAP).
For example, the municipality did not correctly account for unauthorised expenditure incurred in the current year, as required by Section 125(2)(d) of the MFMA.
“This resulted in unauthorised expenditure being understated by R646 593 600,” the report said.
The City also came under criticism for failing to report allegations of fraud and extortion, which exceeded R100 000, to the SAPS, as required by section 34(1) of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (Preccca). Reacting to the report, the multiparty coalition national structure expressed its disappointment with the audit findings, saying it expected urgent remedial action, deep reform and real accountability.
Coalition spokesperson Dr Corné Mulder said: “Our efforts to displace failed ANC can never see regression in the standard of good governance.
He said the national structure of the multiparty coalition had a planned meeting yesterday with the political executive in Tshwane.
“While many efforts are made to localise the coalition government, the national coalition structures must be briefed on causal factors behind the audit findings as well as the measures that will be taken for remedial action,” he said. Mulder commented that it should be noted that the current multiparty government took over the city’s reins five months after the 2021/22 financial year had started, and “there are deep historical problems underpinning the report pre-dating, even that financial year. The multiparty government is nonetheless committed to address the historical root causes of adverse findings and hold those accountable responsible.
“South Africans are looking to a grouping of political parties to provide an alternative to a failed ANC legacy of collapsing service delivery and rampant corruption.
“This is why the governing multiparty coalition in the City of Tshwane will respond to the auditor-general report decisively with remedial action, consequence management and transparency.”
Pretoria News