Twenty seven out of the 30 municipalities and municipal agencies in the province have honoured the Auditor-General’s deadline for submission of their Annual Financial Statements (AFS) for the 2014/15 financial year that ended on 30 June.
Fetakgomo, Mogalakwena and Mutale Municipalities did not meet the prescribed deadline of 31 August 2015. Reasons advocated for the non-submission included political and administrative instability, labour unrest and non-appointment of service providers. After deliberation with the Office of the Auditor-General, extension of time was granted.
The South African Local Government Association (Salga) Limpopo in a media release, noted its appreciation with the fact that 90% of the municipalities and agencies have submitted their AFS to the Auditor-General within the regulated deadline.
“Emanating from Salga Limpopo’s Municipal Finance Week that was held in February this year, our member municipalities were reminded of the significance of submitting quality AFS within the prescribed time-frame and following the necessary oversight processes,” Thapelo Matlala, Salga Limpopo’s Provincial Executive Officer stated.
Earlier this year, Salga Limpopo convened a meeting with Mayors and Executive Mayors, Members of Mayoral Committees responsible for Finance Portfolios, Municipal Managers and Chief Financial Officers to encourage all assurance providers to be actively involved in the audit processes starting with the compilation of audit evidence files and it appears as if the efforts have resulted in positive outcomes.
The Capricorn District Municipality (CDM) branch of the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu) did not wish to comment and attempts to source comment from South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) Provincial Secretary, Simon Mathe, proved futile at time of going to print.
Story: BARRY VILJOEN
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