​Thembisa Shologu
Gauteng Treasury has embarked on an operational plan to support and monitor municipalities to improve financial reporting and control environments. 
Alongside the standard support offered, the department has introduced new initiatives to enhance the credibility of Annual Financial Statements (AFS). One such initiative is the accelerator programme, which requires municipalities to produce interim financial statements.
Addressing the media at the Legislature on Thursday about the Auditor General's municipalities' overall outcome, MEC Lebogang Maile confirmed that all municipalities submitted their draft AFS by 31 August 2024 as per legislative requirements.
"Another initiative explored was the introduction of an audit preparation workshop, in which the roles of municipal managers, Chief Financial Officers (CFO), the audit committee chairperson, and chief audit executives were highlighted for the current audit process. 
"The idea is to create a culture shift where annual financial statement preparation is viewed as a year-long process informed by daily, weekly and monthly discipline," said Maile. 
The MEC noted that the quality of submitted performance reports improved slightly, from 50% to 54%. 
He highlighted that in some instances, the related performance targets were either revised or not prioritised, resulting in communities not receiving the desired services.
"Targets not being achieved further affected the adequacy of basic services delivery to communities. In response to our year's call to action, the Metros included the National Treasury's common performance indicators in their performance report. 
"However, greater urgency is required from accounting officers, mayors and members of the mayoral communities to address service delivery challenges. Council oversight committees should hold executive leadership accountable for the implementation of service delivery plans," he explained. 
Maile raised concerns about compliance with legislation, which remains a stumbling block to good governance. 
He listed unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditures as some of the identified non-compliance challenges. 
"We call upon the speaker's councils, municipal public accounts committees and other council committees to instil a culture of good governance by promptly investigating unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure and ensuring that disciplinary boards function as intended," said the MEC. 
Between the 2018 and 2022/23 financial years, the Midvaal Local Municipality maintained a clean audit, while the City of Johannesburg, West Rand District Municipality, Sedibeng District Municipality, and Lesedi Local Municipality maintained unqualified audits. 
The City of Tshwane has received unqualified audits in the first three years of the year under review and received an adverse opinion in the 2021/22 fiscal year before it moved to a qualified opinion in the 2022/ 23 financial year. 
"In the period under review, Emfuleni Local Municipality obtained qualified outcomes in the first two years, an unqualified outcome with findings in the 2020/21 financial year and two consecutive qualified outcomes in the succeeding financial years.
"The City of Ekurhuleni, which received an unqualified outcome with findings in the first year under review, and three consecutive clean audits subsequently, received an unqualified outcome with findings in the 2022/23 financial year, this marks regression," said MEC Maile.