Corruption and mismanagement – the facts
The Western Cape received the most clean audits by far — 22 municipalities out of 30, according to the auditor general’s Municipal Financial Management Act report for 2014-2015.
The City of Cape Town has received clean audits for the past 12 years, and 21 Democratic Alliancerun municipalities achieved a clean audit, though five did not.
In Gauteng, Midvaal was one of four municipalities to receive a clean audit. The Midvaal municipality has, for the past two consecutive years, achieved a clean audit and had 11 clean audits since taking power in 2001. It was ranked the top municipality in Gauteng in the annual Municipal Financial Sustainability Index (MFSI).
The ANC-run Ekhuruleni also received a clean audit. Johannesburg and Tshwane were rated financially qualified with findings. Nelson Mandela Bay, now under DA control, was financially unqualified with findings, and was the biggest culprit for fruitless and wasteful expenditure for the year, and the second-largest contributor (R1.3-billion) to irregular expenditure. Tshwane was the third worst metro for irregular spending, amounting to R1.1-billion.
According to Ratings Afrika’s annually published MFSI, the Western Cape scored an average of 60 out of a possible 100 points, making it “the highest-scoring province and it is also the province that has improved the most over the last five years,” the report said. It added that “it is the only province whose governance practices can be considered to be sound”.
KwaZulu-Natal scored on average 59 and Gauteng scored 30. Of the metros, Cape Town scored the highest with 75, ANC-run Ekurhuleni fared well with 70, Johannesburg scored a poor 37 and Tshwane score the lowest with 24.
“Ironically, the metros with the lowest scores, Johannesburg with 37 and Tshwane with only 24, are the wealthiest municipalities in the country as measured by their household income, which is more than 170% of the national average. This reflects severe deficiencies in their budgeting practices and financial discipline,” the Ratings Afrika report said.
But credit rating agencies such as Moody’s have given the City of Cape Town and the City of Johannesburg high-quality ratings.