Limpopo’s drive to boost service delivery

After a dismal audit outcome performance that saw Limpopo’s 27 municipalities spending more than R279 million on consultants to perform financial reporting last financial year, Limpopo premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba is on drive to turn things around.

Only two municipalities in Limpopo received clean audit opinions in the last financial year.

Auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke reprimanded the province last year for over-reliance on consultants.

Limpopo’s Ramathuba takes action

“We have now embarked on a recruitment drive to attract the necessary skills to do financials in our books,” said Ramathuba.

“Our aim is to impress and to improve on service delivery and on our financial reporting.”

Ramathuba was speaking during the South African Local Government Association (Salga) Limpopo Members Assembly at Karibu Leisure Resort, outside Tzaneen, on Tuesday.

She said Limpopo had an abundance of skilled personnel in financial reporting, but still wasted a chunk of taxpayers’ money on consultants.

Worse, she said, most of those who paid the exorbitant amounts still failed to improve their annual audit outcomes.

“We have more trained and skilled chartered accountants (CAs) who can help Limpopo to achieve clean audits year after year,” she said.

But most of the CAs had now left the province.

“They have now found greener pastures in institutions beyond the province’s borders and we must bring them back to impart skills to our municipal and departmental staff to improve audits,” Ramathuba said.

“We must call them back to the province to help improve the situation. When they are here, we must all give them a warm welcome. We must support them and make them feel at home.”

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Salga says service delivery linked to councillor proximity

Meanwhile, Salga Limpopo chair John Mpe called on ward councillors to remain in their constituencies after they are elected to lead communities.

“That is why we have poor service delivery in our communities. We elect councillors to lead us but after they get a few salaries, they buy German sedans and later relocate to the leafy suburbs of Tzaneen or Polokwane. They no longer attend community meetings, nor do they even attend local funerals,” he said.

“When the roads are eroded, they don’t experience it because they are now living in suburbs where roads are tarred or paved.

“When communities do not have clean piped running water, they don’t experience it because they drink bottled water.

“That is the type of councillors we do not want as Salga. We are going to the local government elections in 2026 and councillors must live up to the expectations of their people.”

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