SALGA today unveiled its recently developed comprehensive, multi-disciplinary, target- driven and customised Municipal Audit Support Programme (MASP) to improve the audit outcomes and maintain a strategic balance between a focus on audit outcomes and providing the basic services to the citizens of South Africa.
SALGAs overall objective for the MASP is:
- to support Municipalities who have qualified or worse audit outcomes in order to gradually improve and sustain these improvements to their audit outcomes
- to also support Municipalities with unqualified audit outcomes in order to maintain and sustain their audit outcomes.
The MASP is based on a multidisciplinary approach focusing on 4 pillars: Leadership, Governance, Institutional Capacity and Financial Management which will collectively address the root causes and risk areas as identified in the Auditor General’s Report. We view the MASP as a partnership between SALGA and its member municipalities.
This partnership is based on a shared accountability model whereby SALGA commits to provide relevant and practical value adding support whereas the respective municipalities commit to provide a receptive environment and to follow through on support initiatives to ensure tangible sustainable improvement. Ultimate accountability rests with Municipalities themselves and this needs to be reinforced and confirmed to and by the Municipalities themselves. Without this acknowledgement any support will not have effective results.
SALGA’s main focus in commencing with the MASP is on municipalities with Adverse or Disclaimer opinions as well as those municipalities whose audits were not finalised by the legislated deadline based on the 2012/2013 AGSA audit outcomes, these number 79.
SALGA National
Block B Menlyn Corporate Park 175 Corobay Ave
Cnr Garsfontein Rd Waterkloof Glen X11
Pretoria 0181
Tel: 012 369 8000
Fax: 012 369 8001
Eastern Cape
1st Floor 3 Berea Terrace, Berea East London 5214
Tel: 043 727 1150
Fax: 043 727 1156
Free State
36 McGregor St
East End Bloemfontein 9300
Tel: 051 447 1960
Fax: 051 430 8250
Gauteng 3rd Floor Braampark Forum 2, 33 Hoofd St
Braamfontein 2017
Tel: 011 276 1150
Fax: 011 403 3636
KwaZulu-Natal
4th Floor Clifton Place 19 Hurst Grove
Musgrave Durban 4000
Tel: 013 817 0000
Fax: To follow
Limpopo
127 Marshall St
Polokwane 0699
Tel: 015 291 1400
Fax: 015 291 1414
Mpumalanga
SALGA House 11 Van Rensburg St Nelspruit 1200
Tel: 013 752 1200
Fax: 013 752 5595
North West
Suite 400, Jade Square Cnr O R Tambo & Margaretha Prinsloo St Klerksdorp 2570
Tel: 018 462 5290
Fax: 018 462 4662
Northern Cape
Block Two, Montrio Corporate Park
10 Oliver Road, Monument Heights Kimberley 8301
Tel: 053 836 7900
Fax: 053 833 3828
Western Cape
7th Floor 44 Strand Street
Cape Town 8000
Tel: 021 446 9800
Fax: 021 418 2709
From the 79 Municipalities, a number of municipalities will be selected for hands-on support by SALGA and for the remaining municipalities, SALGA will monitor municipalities and engage with District Municipalities, Treasuries and CoGTA’s to ensure that relevant and practical support is provided to these municipalities.
For the municipalities selected we have identified which of the six key risk areas below as per the AG’s report are applicable to each respective municipality and will base the customised support in response to the risk areas identified.
SALGA will prepare a customised support plan per municipality which will consider the support that the municipality currently receives from Treasuries and CoGTA’s and other stakeholders and this plan will be discussed and agreed with the municipality both administratively and politically.
The risk areas are:
- the quality of submitted financial statements;
- quality of performance reports;
- supply chain management;
- human resource management;
- information technology controls; and
- financial health.
In addition, SALGA has identified certain support initiatives that are transversal to all 278 municipalities such as records management training and the development of a consultant management framework.
The support and coordination role of District Municipalities is also vital to Local Municipalities within their District. The establishment and rollout of shared Audit Committees and shared Internal Audit functions under the control and direction of the District Municipality needs to be encouraged.
We believe that all four pillars that the SALGA MASP is based on, need to be strong and functioning effectively in order for a Municipality to obtain and sustain unqualified audits and good service delivery. Each of the pillars has key support focus areas which collectively address the AG’s root causes and risk areas.
The Institutional Capacity pillar focuses on vacancies, competencies and performance management systems. The Financial Management pillar focuses on supply chain management; expenditure/asset/receivables management and financial, compliance and performance reports.
The Leadership pillar covers both political and administration, executive coaching, councillor induction and on-going training, senior management induction programme, embedding and reinforcing councillor handbook, ongoing technical support and consequence Management framework linked to appropriate regulations.
The Governance pillar addresses internal audit, oversight and ICT.
Although the key support focus areas were determined on the 2012/2013 Audit Outcomes, emerging reforms and regulations have been identified which may impact the current audit cycle and future cycles and these include:
- ICT Governance Framework
- Financial Misconduct Regulations
- SALGA Wage Curve Agreement
- SCOA Regulations
- Changes in GRAP Reporting Framework
- Development and rollout of SALGA’s Consequence Management Framework
SALGA will keep municipalities up to date with all the developments happening in these areas and where required will also assist or facilitate the rollout of training on the new Regulations and Standards.
Sustainable improvement in audit outcomes are expected to occur gradually as the four pillars are strengthened and developed by committed partners. SALGA envisages that MASP will improve accountability, governance and service delivery.
Media enquiries:
Karen Reyneke, Manager: Communication
Cell: 083 321 4216
E-mail: kreyneke@salga.org.za
