Credit to office of auditor-general

The report released this week by Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu into audit outcomes for municipalities for the 2016-17 financial year makes for dispiriting reading. One understands now why so many of our provinces are in the process of failing – because they cannot account for taxpayers’ money which they are either spending recklessly, or stealing.

It is sobering to realise that the two worst provinces – Free State and North West – were run by strong backers of former president Jacob Zuma.

Ace Magashule and Supra Mahumapelo, the respective premiers of the two provinces, have been fingered for involvement in dodgy deals in their provinces, some of them part of the grand state capture project network run by the Gupta family.

In Free State, according to the auditor-general (AG), every single one of the 18 municipalities requires “intervention”. In the North West, the figure is 13, or almost 60% of all the municipalities. In Mahumapelo’s backyard, just three municipalities – or 14% of the provincial total – received a “good” rating from the AG.

Proof doesn’t come clearer than that about the dreadful impact on South Africa of the hands-in-thetill Zuma years.

Apart from the general interference from politicians all over the country, the cadre deployment system has seen towns deprived of accounting skills – the abilities needed to track basic income and expenditure correctly.

So, even if there is a change of political control – and that is happening at lightning speed under President Cyril Ramaphosa, it must be acknowledged – the skills vacuum needs to be addressed.

The silver lining to this awful cloud of incompetence, corruption and maladministration is the fact that the office of the AG is still doing its job.

Having independent auditors as a watchdog over government is one of the best ways of strengthening SA’s democracy.