The Auditor General (AG) of South Africa, Tsakani Maluleke, has again expressed her disappointment as only five Northern Cape municipalities improved while seven regressed in the 2023-’24 audit outcome compared to the one in 2020-’21.
Maluleke says municipal councils must rectify governance failures and instill accountability.
“Last year, our message focused on the need to stabilise local government, improve oversight by tabling good-quality reports on time, improve the outcomes of municipalities that have modified audit opinions, and align budgets and service delivery plans to be responsive to community needs.
“We also highlighted the need for municipalities with unfunded budgets to be assisted to become financially viable by improving their internal control environment.
“This message went largely unheeded, as the provincial cooperative governance department did not bring the necessary stability by assisting in making appointments in key vacant positions.”
Tsakani Maluleke, Auditor General
The Northern Cape’s financial position continues to deteriorate at an alarming rate. Irregular expenditure stands at R3.67 billion, with only R930,000 in the process of recovery.
Even more concerning, unauthorised expenditure has increased from R7.38 billion in 2020-’21 to R8.13 billion in 2023-’24, representing a complete breakdown in financial controls and oversight.
Despite repeated warnings and extensive interventions by the AG, the province’s local government landscape continues to deteriorate, painting a stark picture of systemic failure that Maluleke says demands immediate and decisive action.
Audit failures signal deep-rooted problems
The audit outcomes for the 2023-’24 financial year reveal a troubling pattern of regression. Only four municipalities managed to submit credible financial statements. It is a decline from five in 2020-’21, despite the province investing R150 million in financial reporting consultants.
Also concerning is that 70% of mayors failed to address issues raised in previous audit reports, resulting in the same problems recurring year after year.
This pattern of non-compliance has created a cycle of dysfunction where municipalities cannot produce reliable financial information, making it impossible for leaders to make informed decisions about resource allocation and service delivery.
The audit landscape tells a story of decline and missed opportunities.
While only two municipalities – Frances Baard and Namakwa District Municipalities – have maintained clean audit status since 2020-’21, others have regressed dramatically.
Kareeberg and Tsantsabane Municipality both fell to disclaimed audit opinions, largely due to skills shortages and the departure of key financial personnel at critical times.
Infrastructure neglect costing communities
Human cost of municipal mismanagement becomes apparent when examining infrastructure maintenance across the province. Municipalities are spending merely 2% of their infrastructure asset value on repairs and maintenance, far below the National Treasury’s recommended 8%.
This chronic underinvestment has created a cascade of service delivery failures that directly impact residents’ daily lives.
The Sol Plaatje Local Municipality exemplifies this crisis, losing an astronomical R277.64 million through infrastructure inefficiencies. The municipality loses two-thirds of all treated water and nearly a quarter of purchased electricity. These are losses that far exceed national norms and represent resources that could have been directed toward improving communities’ access to basic services.
Water and sanitation projects at five municipalities showed significant shortcomings, highlighting how poor maintenance practices have compounded service delivery backlogs. These failures disproportionately affect the province’s most vulnerable residents, who rely entirely on municipal services for their basic needs.
Financial mismanagement: Alarming proportions
This financial chaos stems primarily from non-compliance with supply chain management legislation and the failure to implement consequence management when irregularities are identified.
Municipal public accounts committees have largely failed in their oversight role, allowing these massive amounts of irregular and unauthorised expenditure to accumulate without proper investigation or recovery action.
The province has identified 38 material irregularities, resulting in likely financial losses of R129.45 million. While some progress has been made in recovering R6.7 million and preventing estimated losses of R20.95 million, the overall response has been inadequate given the scale of the problems.
Performance undermines service delivery
The Northern Cape’s struggle with performance reporting has reached crisis proportions, with 22 municipalities unable to publish credible performance reports in 2023-’24 – a dramatic increase from ten municipalities in 2020-’21. Only four district municipalities managed to produce credible performance reports without requiring adjustments.
This reporting crisis reflects deeper systemic problems, including inadequate record-management systems and insufficient skills in municipal performance units.
Without reliable performance data, municipalities cannot effectively plan service delivery interventions or measure their impact on communities’ lives.
Glimmer of hope, commitment to change
Despite the overwhelming challenges, the Joe Morolong Local Municipality demonstrates that improvement is possible with commitment and proper support.
After years of disclaimed audit opinions, the municipality achieved a qualified audit opinion in 2023-’24 through strong leadership commitment, improved record-keeping, and regular engagement with audit teams.
Dr Zamani Saul, premier of the Northern Cape, has responded to these findings with specific commitments. These include enhanced monitoring of infrastructure and contract management, and requesting the provincial treasury to review interim municipal financial statements.
The executive councils for finance and local government have committed to emphasising consequence management and creating capacity to monitor service delivery alignment.
Path forward requires urgent action
The AG says immediate and sustained intervention across multiple fronts is needed. Provincial oversight bodies must move beyond policy statements to implement robust accountability mechanisms that ensure consequences for non-compliance.
Municipalities must prioritise appointing skilled personnel and establishing preventative controls that address root causes rather than symptoms.
The recommendation for quarterly accountability sessions between the premier and municipalities represents a crucial step toward restoring proper oversight.
However, success will ultimately depend on municipal leadership’s willingness to implement consequences swiftly and consistently, breaking the cycle of impunity that has allowed these problems to persist and worsen.
For the people of the Northern Cape, the stakes could not be higher, Maluleke states in the report.
“Access to basic services, economic opportunities, and quality of life depends on whether provincial and municipal leaders can summon the political will to transform rhetoric into meaningful action. Residents need decisive leadership that puts service delivery and financial accountability at the centre of local government operations.”
Tsakani Maluleke, Auditor General
In his response Bentley Vass, MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (Coghsta), says: “We are not happy with the performance of our municipalities, in relation to the Municipal Audit Outcomes 2023-’24. Obviously the accountability ecosystems must be enhanced and all partners must play their role to turn the situation around. We will continue to support municipalities to address poor audit outcomes.”
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