Premier Mathabatha buoyed by Improved Limpopo Local Government Audit Outcomes for 2020/21
Limpopo Premier, Mr Chupu Stanley Mathabatha, is pleased with the positive outcome of the municipal audit outcomes released recently. The Auditor-General, Ms Tsakani Maluleke, released the 2020/2021 financial year municipal audit outcomes in the middle of June 2022 wherein Limpopo has shown significant improvement in its audit outcomes. Ms Maluleke said: “During the term of the previous administration, we saw a notable improvement in audit outcomes, especially in the adverse and disclaimed opinions of municipalities such as Mogalakwena, Thabazimbi and Modimolle-Mookgophong.”
Limpopo is among two of the provinces that have been singled out by the AG as having shown improvement in the 2020/21 audit.
“This outcome has shown that as the provincial government we have capacity to better manage our affairs. We have noted the major areas that the AG has raised, especially the matters of overreliance on usage of consultants and the increase in irregular expenditures that municipalities have incurred, including those that have not been followed up from prior years. We believe that we have capacity to assist municipalities by playing our oversight role to deal with this matter,” said excited Premier Mathabatha. Making an undertaking to continue improving audit outcomes, Premier Mathabatha has tasked the Provincial Treasury and Department of Cooperative Governance Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA) to work together to improve financial outcome of the province, to improve its accountability and sound financial management. He said that outcome of the audits is to ensure that the people of the province receive quality services to improve their living conditions.
“We are therefore encouraged by the Premier [Chupu Mathabatha]’s commitment that the provincial treasury will help municipalities build capacity within their finance units, his instruction to municipalities to reduce their consultant spending by 60% and his call for municipalities to implement consequences for wrongdoing immediately.
Further noted Ms Maluleke: “We also acknowledge the commitments made by the provincial legislature and provincial cooperative governance department to capacitate councillors through training programmes so that they can better understand their roles as an oversight body. We call upon the provincial leadership to closely monitor the implementation of these commitments, to ensure a positive impact on both the state of local government and the lives of the people of Limpopo.
Of the twenty-seven (27) Limpopo municipalities, sixteen (16) municipalities achieved unqualified opinions, with Waterberg District Municipality having received a clean audit without findings, nine (9) municipalities received qualified audit findings with Mogalakwena improving from disclaimer while two (2) municipalities, Bela-Bela and Mopani, received disclaimer audit opinion.
Premier Mathabatha’s undertaking five years ago to improve audit outcomes is bearing fruits to ensure that local government is an accountable administration to the people it serves.
Enquiries:
Ndavhe Ramakuela (Provincial Government Spokesperson)
Cell: 082 200 5357
Email: RamakuelaN@premier.limpopo.gov.za
Willy Mosoma
Spokesperson for the Premier
Cell: 072 102 4920 or 082 416 1347
Email: MosomaW@premier.limpopo.gov.za
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