Auditor-general flags ‘serious irregularities’ in City of Tshwane’s finances

The City of Tshwane said it has taken note of a reported issued by the auditor-general (AG) which flagged it for “serious irregularities” and failing to submit the correct financial statements for the July 2021 to June 2022 financial year.

The leaked 28-page report found the city’s finances are seriously irregular, while officials and councillors benefit from flawed procurement processes and irregularities.

Audit outcomes

Fruitless and wasteful expenditure was also understated by R1bn as the municipality failed to record such expenses.

The municipality reportedly also failed to disclose the reasons for deviating from supply chain management regulations, according to TimesLIVE.

This resulted in financial statements being overstated by R488m, the report said.

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Investigations

Mayor Randall Williams confirmed the adverse opinion by the auditor-general saying he would investigate the culprits listed in the report.

“Alarmingly the auditor-general has also identified officials and councillors who benefitted from supply chain processes. The law makes it very clear that no official from local, provincial, and national government departments or municipal councillors may benefit through supply chain processes.”

“A proper investigation will be conducted into the list of names compiled by the auditor-general and appropriate action will be taken to recover the monies and bring the culprits to justice,” Williams said.

Disappointment

Williams said the adverse opinion for the City of Tshwane is a disappointment.

“It is not an outcome that is remotely acceptable within the context of good governance. We have already begun the work to set the city right. We are working closely with National Treasury and the auditor-general to address the findings.”

“National Treasury is further providing us with additional professional staff (two former CFOs) to assist the city. We will also be bringing in an external auditing firm to begin provisionally auditing the first half of this financial year ending 31 December 2022.”

Williams added the city of Tshwane is “firmly committed” towards ensuring that it improves the city’s future audit outcomes.

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