AG’s report shows DA is best at running local government
3 June 2015
The DA welcomes the Auditor General’s (AG) presentation today in Parliament which indicates that there have been noticeable improvements in the local government financial audit results for the 2013/14 financial year.
The DA-run Western Cape Province has once again topped the list of provinces with the number of municipalities receiving clean audits, with zero adverse, disclaimers or qualified with findings – results.
17 of the 24 Municipalities (71%) in the DA-run Western Cape received clean audits, compared to 13 of the 50 municipalities (26%) in KwaZulu-Natal and 4 of the 10 municipalities (40%) in Gauteng – one of which is the DA-run Midvaal Municipality.
These results bear strong testimony to the fact that the DA is best at governance in the country.
We believe government can and should be more responsive to the needs of the people. We believe it can be more transparent and accountable to those it serves, and that it can be more efficient in delivering services.
The audit results are telling and we urge the Minster of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Pravin Gordhan, to ensure that proper systems are in place to get rid of public officials who are looting the public purse.
Where we govern, our service delivery records and governance outcomes show that we are committed to spending public money in the interest of the people and that we have the capacity to deliver.
These results unfortunately show how the rest of the municipalities under the ANC continue to be mismanaged; Free State, Limpopo and North West are in a particularly bad state, with none of these municipalities receiving clean audits.
What is also of great concern is the amount of fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred: R687 million was incurred by 250 auditees, an improvement from the R860 million incurred by 222 auditees in the previous year. However, unauthorised expenditure of R11 402 million was incurred by 190 municipalities (71%) – a significant increase compared to the R8 502 million incurred by 175 municipalities in the previous year.
The fact of the matter is that if a municipality cannot manage its finances properly, it cannot deliver the essential services the people need.
Statement issued by Kevin Mileham MP, DA Shadow Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, June 3 2015
