Auditor General, Kimi Makwetu, said the trend of audit improvements in the past few years in the Eastern Cape, did not continue.
Makwetu presented the audit outcomes for municipalities on Wednesday for the 2016/2017 financial year.
He reported “an overall deterioration in the audit results of South Africa’s municipalities for 2016-17.
Makwetu said despite his office’s constant and insistent advice and caution to those charged with governance and oversight about administrative lapses since 2013, their counsel has largely not been heeded.
Referring to the Eastern Cape, the Auditor General said that six municipalities in the province improved their outcomes but seven regressed.
“We warned these municipalities to keep the administration as stable as possible, fill vacant positions, and not underestimate the complexities of the mergers of municipalities,” he said.
“Of greatest concern in this province were the accountability failures in the areas of supply chain management and infrastructure development. He said infrastructure projects were not delivered as a result of poor planning and project management.
“Irregular expenditure of R13.558 billion (48% of the total irregular expenditure) was incurred by municipalities in the Eastern Cape. This represented 35% of their provincial local government expenditure budget,” said Makwetu.
The AG produced the following graphic to show how the province performed in various audit areas:
