Limpopo’s Mogalakwena Municipality placed under administration

The Mogalakwena Municipality in Limpopo, where governance has collapsed and two senior officials were recently shot dead, has officially been placed under administration.

An intervention team comprising various specialists reported for duty this week for a period of 12 months. The team’s specialties are in municipal finance, supply chain management, human resources, information technology and labour.

Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs MEC Basikopo Makamu convened a municipal special executive meeting last Friday to lay the foundation for the intervention team.

This followed a resolution adopted without a hitch by all political parties to place the municipality under administration.

Makamu said the head of the team, France Boshielo, had to be sourced from the North West due to capacity constraints in Limpopo.

“He was appointed as the head of the team alongside other members for a period of 12 months, subject to the terms and conditions as contained in the Service Level Agreement.”

The municipality was placed under administration against the backdrop of intense infighting which led to the total collapse of governance.

Among others, damning reports by the municipal public accounts committee into corruption and other illegal activities were prevented from being tabled by some council members over the past three years.

It is believed the murders of committee chairperson Vaaltyn Kekana, 54, and ANC local leader Ralph Kganyane, 32, last year was to silence them because they spoke out against corruption.

The municipality also obtained unqualified, two adverse and two disclaimer audit reports over the past five years.

According to the Auditor-General of SA’s website, an adverse audit opinion was when financial statements contained material misstatements that were not confined to specific amounts, or the misstatements represented a substantial portion of the financial statements.

This means that an auditor was unable to express a definite opinion either due to a lack of properly maintained financial records or the absence or insufficient support from the management.

Whereas a disclaimer audit report occurs when an auditee provides insufficient evidence in the form of documentation on which to base an audit opinion. The lack of sufficient evidence is not confined to specific amounts or represents a substantial portion of the information contained in the financial statements.

This means there has been a gross misstatement and, possibly, fraud, in the preparation of the financial records.

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