Turnaround plan call in areas that failed audit

ALL municipalities in KwaZuluNatal that received adverse audits from auditor-general Terence Nombembe earlier this week would have to present a turnaround plan to the co-operative governance and traditional affairs department, co-operative governance MEC Nomusa Dube said yesterday.

Only five out of 61 municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal had received a clean audit for 2010-11, while only 5% of municipalities nationwide had clean audits.

Municipalities are the frontline of basic services delivery, but many are underresourced and suffer from maladministration and corruption.

Mr Nombembe’s latest report painted a dismal picture, with R11bn in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure across SA.

The report also showed a deterioration, as none of the eight metros received a clean audit, including the City of Cape Town, which had received clean audits for the past two years.

“We believe that audit recommendations would be implemented more effectively across all spheres of government if the chairmanship and control over the agenda of the supreme oversight institutions was not in the hands of the political party that simultaneously controls the government,” said Blessed Gwala of the Inkatha Freedom Party.

Ms Dube and Mr Gwala spoke at the Speakers Forum in Durban, a conference of municipal and legislative speakers.

Ms Dube said that a skills audit of councillors would be undertaken as a precursor to the province providing “specialist” training for councilors.