Municipal audit failures persist

Auditor-General (A-G) Tsakane Maluleke has noted with concern the weak adherence to the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) by municipalities across the province. Maluleke presented her 2024/25 MFMA audit outcomes at the provincial legislature on Thursday morning. In her presentation, Maluleke emphasised that weak adherence to the MFMA remained a primary cause of persistent audit failures.

She said these are characterised by poor financial discipline, weak governance systems, and inadequate consequence management — failures that directly undermine service delivery and erode public trust in local government. KZN Finance MEC, Francois Rodgers, noted with serious concern the continued poor audit outcomes across several municipalities. He condemned the ongoing disregard for financial legislation by some municipalities and their leaderships.

“The MFMA is not optional — it is a legal and ethical obligation. Poor compliance with the Act leads directly to poor audit outcomes, financial instability, and ultimately the inability of municipalities to deliver basic services to our people. This culture of non-compliance must end,” said Rodgers.

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He further commended municipalities that continued to demonstrate discipline and commitment to good governance, noting that improvement is achievable where leadership takes responsibility seriously. “We commend municipalities such as Richmond Local Municipality, which have shown that openness to working closely with KZN Treasury, adherence to the MFMA, strong internal controls, and ethical leadership can result in improved audit outcomes,” he said. These municipalities prove that clean governance is achievable when there is discipline and political will.

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