In the most unsurprising development this week, municipal audit outcomes have once again regressed and the provision of services with it.
The state of local government finances has deteriorated to such an extent that only 34 of 257 municipalities received clean audits this year, with 20 of them in the Western Cape. This was down from 38 clean audits in the previous year.
The City of Cape Town is the only metro with a clean audit.
A disappointed auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke announced the audit outcomes on Tuesday, noting that there was little to celebrate in the state of municipal finances for the 2022/2023 financial year. Her report examined the performance of councils two years after they were constituted following the 2021 local election.
An overwhelming 86% of municipalities failed to comply with legislation, up from 83% two years earlier. The quality of financial reporting has not improved much, despite the continued use of consultants. Poor financial management remains prevalent.
Maluleke identified three key areas at the root of the rot in local government: inadequate skills and capacity, governance failures, and a culture of no accountability and consequences. It is not the first time she has flagged these as crucial issues requiring urgent attention.
The thread running through Maluleke’s report is that the poor audit outcomes simply tell the administrative story of the actual state of services residents in towns and cities are receiving. It is not a new story of decline and neglect, but one worsening each year, at least since 2013.
Despite there being less than two years to the next local election, there seems to be no urgency about fixing the tier of government with the most direct contact with voters. Come 2026, parties who continue to make corrupt and irresponsible political appointments at municipal level and neglect their responsibility to deliver services to residents will be vulnerable once more.
It won’t be pretty, but it will be well deserved.
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