The Superintendent-General of the Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs Advocate Stanley Khanyile has assured municipal managers of continued meaningful support from his department.
Speaking to Municipal Managers of the forty five (45) municipalities of the province at a two-day Technical MuniMEC meeting in East London today, Advocate Khanyile urged municipalities to play their part to end the drought on unqualified audit outcomes in the Province. Adv Khanyile said: “we need to do things better with limited financial resources at our disposal. “The department is concerned about poor audit outcomes, he added. “I am disappointed by the negative audit outcomes of some of our municipalities. It is unacceptable to have only nine municipalities with unqualified audit outcomes. Given the support we have been providing to municipalities, we had hoped for improved outcomes.
“He said, already there are perceptions in some communities about government’s inability to deliver services to communities. Our municipalities should be preoccupied with administrative stability and improved audit outcomes will come as an outcome. He added that some of the challenges bedevilling municipalities including the submission of credible Annual Financial Statements (AFS) are the responsibility of Municipal Managers.
“Our municipalities must deal decisively with all reports and acts of fraud and corruption in their midst. We need to regain public confidence as a caring government that is steadfast to principles of good governance and delivers on its commitments,” said Adv Khanyile. He added that the issue of political instability in some municipalities is also a cause for concern hence it is receiving the attention it deserves from the political leadership of the province. Adv. Khanyile said his department invoked Section 154 in 14 municipalities to strengthen the capacity to manage own affairs and exercise powers to perform their functions. That has led to administrative stability, financial recovery plans and governance systems are in place, improved public participation in municipal programmes and improved revenue collection.
He also reminded municipalities of the need to monitor and evaluate the work done by consultants to ensure value for money and forward implementation in a sustainable manner. Adv. Khanyile said his department will monitor closely all litigation trends in municipalities to ensure that the propensity to litigate on every point of disagreement is minimised and the expenditure on legal fees is brought down to acceptable levels.
For more information on this, kindly contact:
Mr Mamnkeli Ngam
Senior Manager: Corporate Communication, Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs
Cell: 071 268 5798
