This after a hand-over ceremony of Annual Financial Statements (AFS) by municipalities to the office of the AG for audit purposes. In a statement, Makwetu says according to newly established regulations he now has powers to take action against any accounting officer who does not implement the recommendations issued by his office.

Earlier, 16 municipalities in the province were placed under administration after they were found to have been riddled with issues of poor administration that led to the lack of service delivery. Meanwhile, the MEC for Treasury in the province, Motlalepula Rosho, says it is sad that despite the financial challenges municipalities are facing in the province, some of these municipalities are still ignoring the Municipal Finance Management Act (56 of 2003).

“Municipalities are conducting transactions without following set laws and regulations, and as the political leadership we become accomplices because we fail to take the necessary actions,” says Rosho. She says municipalities continue to receive negative audit opinions because simple and basic processes are not being done and supply chain management processes are being flouted without any consequent management for perpetrators. “She said municipalities are expected to implement consequence management where incompetence and negligence have been identified. Municipal councils are supposed to play oversight on the administration in order to ensure that laws, regulations, as well as policies,  are implemented and that responsibilities of Councils extend to the implementation of consequence management,” she adds.

Meanwhile, the AG further adds: “Having noticed over time that the Auditor-General South Africa’s (AGSA) recommendations to address audit findings relating to increased unauthorised, irregular and fruitless expenditure across government were disregarded and not implemented by auditees, AGSA realised the need for the amendment of the Public Audit Act No. 25 of 2004, as amended by Public Audit Amendment Act No. 5 of 2018.” The AG further says he will also issue a certificate of debt which would become a personal liability of these officers.

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