The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) has vowed to intensify its oversight of municipalities following a committee briefing in which Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke painted a bleak picture of the 2023/4 municipal audit outcomes.
The Auditor-General’s report highlighted persistently poor financial management with only a few pockets of improvement. “Only 16% of municipalities achieved clean audits,” the committee noted. “This means that almost 84% of municipalities are failing to meet basic governance standards, which is felt in communities.”
The committee said late submissions of financial statements continue although there has been some improvement in the North West province. “The number of municipalities with disclaimers decreased from 28 in the 2020/1 financial year to 14 in the period under review. This represents a 50% decrease. Additionally, 35% of municipalities received qualified audit opinions while seven received adverse opinions due to unreliable financial information.”
COGTA Chairperson Zweli Mkhize said urgent and systemic intervention is needed to address the worsening local government crisis. “This is not just an audit report. It is a mirror held up to our governance structures. The patterns are disturbingly familiar and our role now is to shift from recognition to consequence.”
Mkhize identified poor political leadership, a lack of accountability and weak consequence management as key issues behind the poor financial performance. “The issue is not just technical. It is about will and leadership. Even a metro like Johannesburg, which has resources, is unable to submit credible financial statements. That is not a capacity problem – it is a failure of management and oversight,” he said.
The committee also raised alarm about 84% of municipalities in the national debt relief support programme that failed to meet its conditions. “That’s not just non-compliance – it is a signal that accountability mechanisms are ineffective. We cannot allow indifference and inaction to go unchecked,” said Mkhize.
The entire governance chain, from municipal councils to the National Council of Provinces, must take responsibility, he added. “Parliament will lead this effort by intensifying oversight visits to specific municipalities where dysfunction has become entrenched and by working closely with executive structures at all levels.
“We are no longer interested in excuses. We are calling for performance, for consequence and the prioritisation of service delivery, especially for the most vulnerable communities,” Mkhize said.
