Clean audit outcome for City of uMhlathuze

THE uMhlathuze Municipality has been commended for maintaining a clean audit outcome for the 2020/21 financial year.

The audit opinion was announced by the office of the Auditor General South Africa (AGSA) in a presentation at a special council meeting in Richards Bay on Monday.

‘We want to congratulate the City of uMhlathuze for maintaining a clean audit for two years. Best practices should always be maintained.

‘We have noted few worrying matters such as water losses, and other risky areas such as information technology and human resource matters, among others which ought to be closely monitored.

‘The AG has also noted that the city has not incurred any irregular, or fruitless and wasteful expenditure. No internal control deficiencies were detected,’ said AGSA’s Cleona Rajpal.

The city regained its clean audit status in the previous financial year after slipping in 2018/19 when it obtained an unqualified opinion with findings.

The latest outcome has been commended by City Mayor Xolani Ngwezi who, however, emphasised the need to find a balance between a clean audit and service delivery.

‘I wish to congratulate all councillors for working hard to achieve this clean audit.

‘However, we want to ensure a balance between a clean audit and service delivery. This calls for administration and councillors to work hard together,’ said Ngwezi.

The achievement was also applauded by council, including former mayor Mduduzi Mhlongo, who leads the opposition.

‘We welcome the presentation from the AG which is one of the highly-respected institutions provided by the Constitution.

‘We receive the presentation with great humility. The results of an audit outcome should be accredited to the collective, and we thank all councillors who participated in this effort,’ Mhlongo said.