Audit Report Reveals Only 34 South African Municipalities with Clean Audits

South Africa’s Auditor-General, Tsakani Maluleke, has disclosed a concerning statistic: only 34 out of the country’s 257 municipalities achieved clean audits for the 2022/23 financial year. This stark revelation highlights a significant issue in municipal governance and accountability.

In the Consolidated General Report on Local Government Audit Outcomes for 2022-23, released on Tuesday, Maluleke described the findings as an “urgent call for performance, accountability, transparency, and institutional integrity in local government.” The report underscores municipalities’ critical role in delivering basic services, serving as the primary interface between government and citizens.

Maluleke emphasised the dire state of municipal governance, citing years of service delivery failures, administrative instability, financial mismanagement, and non-compliance with legal requirements. “This sphere of government faces greater demands than ever before to regain the trust of South Africans,” she said, pointing out the persistent issues despite previous calls for reform and assurances from local officials.

The report indicates that while some municipalities have shown improvement, the overall trend remains troubling. Out of the 257 municipalities, only 13% achieved clean audit status, a modest increase in the number of municipalities that have maintained their clean audits. However, this is overshadowed by the fact that 36 municipalities have seen a decline in their audit outcomes over recent years. Furthermore, 77 municipalities showed little effort to comply with essential legislation.

Compliance with legislation continues to be a major hurdle, with 86% of municipalities receiving material compliance findings. This figure represents a slight deterioration from the previous year, reflecting ongoing challenges in adhering to regulatory standards.

The report also highlights a worsening situation among metropolitan municipalities, which are expected to have greater resources and capacity. Despite implementing financial recovery plans, these cities struggled to improve revenue collection and address infrastructure delivery issues. Problems such as delayed projects, returned grant funding, and a lack of consequences for poor performance were noted.

The Auditor-General’s report underscores the need for a more robust approach to municipal management and accountability. It calls for enhanced efforts to address financial and operational inefficiencies and restore public trust in local government institutions.

For a visual representation of these issues, the Auditor-General’s office has provided a graphic illustrating the poor performance across South Africa’s municipalities. This visual aid underscores the severity of the challenges faced and the need for substantial reforms to improve governance and service delivery at the municipal level.