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If It Wasn’t So Shocking We Could Be Laughing!

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The Makana Municipality’s fourth consecutive audit disclaimer has reinforced the DA’s call for council to be dissolved.

Dear Editor

The Makana Municipality recently received another disclaimer audit opinion from the Auditor-General (AG). This was the municipality’s fourth consecutive audit disclaimer and further supports the DA’s call for this failed and incompetent ANC-led council to be dissolved.

During a Makana Municipal Council Meeting held yesterday, 30 January 2024, the AG painted a bleak picture on the audit outcome for the 2022/2023 financial year.

The AG indicated that there had been minimal improvement on previous audit outcomes, dating as far back as 2018.

In 2023 the Makana audit committee chairperson also indicated that a very small percentage of the issues raised by the AG in the 2021/2022 audit report were addressed.

The AG pointed out that some of the critical areas that brought about this opinion were:

  • a culture of non-reporting.
  • no money to monitor management processes.
  • unspent conditional grants.
  • fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

There is a lack of financial and performance management in the municipality.

This culture is not being addressed by means of holding people accountable for their failures and/or misconduct.

Most recently a Financial Recovery Plan was imposed on the municipality, but there is no evidence of its implementation.

The DA has repeatedly called for the council to be dissolved so that a new government can take charge. In terms of s139(5) of the Constitution, the Eastern Cape Provincial Executive must dissolve council if it does not approve a budget that gives effect to the Financial Recovery Plan.

We have already written to the Premier of the Eastern Cape to express our concerns but received no reply. Our next step is to escalate the matter to the National Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

The DA will fight to rescue Makana by putting a new government in place that will ensure financial stability and effective service delivery.

Regards

Cllr Luvuyo Sizani
DA Makana Caucus Leader

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