Auditor-General lays bare Tshwane Municipality's financial woes

JOHANNESBURG - The Auditor-General (AG) said that weak, internal financial controls had seen the Tshwane Municipality lose billions in irregular expenditure and unbilled services.

The AG recently released its audit report on the capital city for the 2023/2024 financial year.

The city received a qualified audit opinion with findings.

This is the third year in a row the municipality has failed to obtain a clean audit.

The financial woes for the Tshwane Municipality have been laid bare by the Auditor-General.

In the financial year under review, the capital incurred R2.3 billion in wasteful, unauthorised and irregular expenditure.

The municipality also lost about R4 billion in non-revenue water, electricity and sewage.

These are municipal services that were conducted by the city, however not billed to the customer due to metering errors and illegal connections among other issues.

Former Finance MMC and Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor, Jacqui Uys, said that there needed to be a culture change in the Tshwane Municipality.

"This cultural change will only be achieved if tough action is taken against officials responsible for the misspending of taxpayers' money."

The AG’s report is due to be tabled before council later in January.