JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng — Gauteng provincial authorities are intensifying efforts to hold negligent municipal managers personally accountable for public funds lost through financial mismanagement, following a critical review of the province’s 2024/2025 municipal audit outcomes. Dr Andiswa Mosai, Chairperson of the Finance Portfolio Committee in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, emphasized that the Auditor-General must act more swiftly and firmly to enforce consequence management and personal financial liability.
The Finance Portfolio Committee, which oversees the provincial treasury, scrutinizes budget allocations, and monitors financial performance—including underspending, overspending, accruals, and other financial risks—recently convened to address these recurring poor findings. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the landscape, the committee invited the provincial treasury, the Auditor-General (AG), and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) to detail the support mechanisms currently being provided to local governments.
During the sessions, various municipalities presented their 2024/2025 Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) audit outcomes. While Midvaal and the West Rand District Municipality achieved unqualified audits without findings, others faced significant challenges. Merafong City received a qualified audit with findings, and several other local and district municipalities recorded unqualified audits that still carried underlying findings. Highlighting the broader trend, the MEC for Finance noted that, overall, the province’s audit outcomes regressed during this period.
Dr Mosai highlighted that a major concern is the failure of municipalities to address root causes or sufficiently implement audit action plans. Instead of fostering genuine accountability, many local governments merely apply superficial fixes to audit findings. The absence of effective consequence management and weak follow-through on recommendations from municipal oversight committees have exacerbated systemic and structural weaknesses.
Despite the regression, there are emerging signs of improvement. Dr Mosai noted that Emfuleni has reduced its unauthorized, irregular, fruitless, and wasteful (UIFW) expenditure, while both Rand West and Merafong City have successfully established funded budgets. However, the committee stressed that support from COGTA and the treasury must shift from a blanket approach to highly specific, targeted interventions for struggling municipalities. The Auditor-General is scheduled to release the 2025/2026 audit findings in September, with municipalities indicating that these targeted interventions will yield visible improvements by that time.
The committee also acknowledged the severe socio-economic catch-22 facing these local governments. High unemployment rates and the closure of local businesses—often driven by the municipality’s inability to maintain basic service delivery—severely hamper revenue collection. Dr Mosai expressed hope that the ongoing review of the national White Paper will assist in restructuring treasury allocations and improving service delivery trajectories.
Addressing the urgent call for personal financial liability, Dr Mosai confirmed that municipal financial disciplinary boards already exist but are currently underutilized. The provincial treasury is actively pushing for these boards to be implemented effectively to ensure that consequence management is no longer just a recommendation, but a reality.
To prevent fragmented efforts, the committee stressed the need for proper, effective coordination between COGTA, the provincial treasury, the Auditor-General, and the legislature to avoid duplication and ensure all interventions are strictly aligned. With local government elections on the horizon, the Finance Portfolio Committee vowed to maintain rigorous oversight, ensuring that newly elected councils are held to the commitments and follow-through promises made by their predecessors.
