FS municipalities will continue to be on brink of financial collapse unless there's consequence management, AG's office warns

CAPE TOWN - The auditor-general's office has warned that unless there’s consequence management in Free State municipalities, they will continue to teeter on the brink of financial collapse and be unable to deliver necessary services.

On Tuesday, Parliament’s cooperative governance committee interrogated four local municipalities on the AG's findings following an intensive oversight process involving all 23 municipalities in the province.

Committee chairperson Zweli Mkhize said the observations were symptomatic of a culture of impunity.

From unpaid employee pension contributions, billions owed to creditors, dodgy tenders and billions of rands in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, Free State councils are mostly dysfunctional.

The auditor-general’s business unit leader, Odwa Duda, said that mayors needed to play a more proactive role in keeping an eye on their council’s finance reports. 

"With the mayors not doing that assessment, they are unable to identify on time the indicators that could give indication that municipality has the financial problems."

Mkhize said the provincial leadership must also be held accountable to ensure municipalities receive the necessary support to comply and act on the auditor-general’s findings.

"The issue of the culture of impunity, it’s important for us to say you will have to ensure that consequence management internally in terms of disciplinary processes and externally in terms of referral to the criminal justice system is monitored by yourself at the provincial level."

The AG's office said that Mkhize was not off the mark in questioning whether some councils may need to be placed under administration.