Brink to deliver State of the City Address
RESIDENTS in Tshwane can expect mayor Cilliers Brink to lay bare the truth behind challenges faced by the metro during tomorrow’s State of the Capital Address.
Brink, who is set to deliver his maiden address two months after he assumed office, said yesterday that he intended to be “transparent” about the state of the municipality.
“In this upcoming State of the City Address, there will be no sugar-coating or fluff. It’s important to be transparent with all residents so that they know what challenges we must overcome,” Brink said.
He also said he was looking forward to delivering the “coalition government’s address because it represented a unique opportunity to highlight the City’s plans for the year ahead”.
This year’s address will take place at Tshwane House under the theme “Building a City that works for all its people”.
Mayoral spokesperson Sipho Stuurman said: “During the address, the executive mayor will present a strategic outline of the plans for the year ahead, with a focus on the financial status of the city and give a plan of action on the steps necessary to turn the city’s finances around.”
He said Brink would provide an update on the plans to address the auditor-general’s (AG) findings and the work needed to improve service delivery for all.
Earlier this year the City came under fire after it incurred an adverse audit opinion from the AG for the 2021/22 financial year. The financial performance was the worst ever recorded by the municipality. The report painted a disastrous picture of the city’s financial management with irregular expenditure of R10.4billion and fruitless and wasteful expenditure understated by R1bn. Unauthorised expenditure was understated by R600million.
The municipality came under scrutiny for failing to properly account for assets worth more than R52bn, and more than R800m was not properly accounted for leave payments.
The AG report also flagged the municipality for failing to account for millions of rand it claimed to have spent on various service delivery activities.
In many instances, the City was found wanting for submitting incorrect and incomplete financial statements, resulting in the AG issuing adverse audit findings.
Brink recently expressed his intention to build a city that works for all residents.
He said that the city must be clean, effective, a corruption-free administration and provide a continuous and reliable supply of basic services.
“We want to build a capital city that works for all of its people, one that improves the lives of the poor, and creates opportunities for all people to move up in life.
“We know in our hearts that this city will only be a good place for any of us to live in if we work to make it a good place for all of us to live in,” he said.