Ekurhuleni metro improves on good governance, finance management

The City of Ekurhuleni announced that it has received commendation from the Auditor-General on its performance in terms of good governance and sound fiscal management.

This takes place on the backdrop of the Auditor-General having recently released the consolidated general report on local government audit outcomes for 2018/19. According to the metro spokesperson, Themba Gadebe, the AG said while the City has not moved up from the unqualified report it received in the previous year, it has actively embarked on a process of capacitating its finance unit over the past few years, which has resulted in a gradual improvement in the quality of financial statements and a reduction in compliance findings.

The City achieved the following highlights from the audit:

• The City of Ekurhuleni achieved an unqualified audit for the financial year 2018/19
• The City received a clean audit on financial statements
• The City incurred zero unauthorised, fruitless and wasteful expenditure (for the second consecutive year)
• Irregular expenditure has decreased from R215-million in the previous financial year to R5-m in the 2018/19 annual review
• The collection rate stood at 91 per cent for the financial year in review
• The City has complied with 30 days payment of all invoices.
• Capital expenditure for the year stood at 94.31 per cent.
• Overall grant funding spending for the year is 94 per cent
• Cash on hand for the year R3.5 billion
• The City has performed very well on cost containment worth R138.6-m for year under review
• Management of both water and electricity losses are both below national standards
• The City achieved a 70 per cent reduction in the number of non-compliance paragraphs recorded in the audit report
• The City continues to shoulder the cost of a social package of R4-b per annum

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The metro pointed out that most instances of irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure that were reported in previous years were subjected to an investigation to ensure that consequences are instituted by the City against transgressors.