The South African Local Government Association (Salga) Limpopo recognised municipalities with positive audit outcomes at a breakfast session hosted at Sun Meropa last Tuesday.
Although no municipality in the province received a clean audit opinion for the 2017/18 financial year, Capricorn (CDM) and Sekhukhune district municipalities and the Thulamela, Molemole and Maruleng local municipalities received awards for Sustaining Unqualified Audit Opinions. Elias Motsoaledi, Greater Letaba and Ephraim Mogale local municipalities also received unqualified opinions from the Auditor-General.
Awards were made to CDM and the Lepelle-Nkumpi, Makhuduthamaga, Makhado, Thulamela, Maruleng, Greater Letaba, Bela-Bela and Ba-Phalaborwa local municipalities for spending 100% of their Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) funds.
Limpopo Premier, Stan Mathabatha handed over the awards and was, among others accompanied by MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, Jerry Ndou and MEC for Provincial Treasury, Rob Tooley.
Mathabatha took the opportunity to congratulate the municipalities that have done well in their audit opinions. “We are looking forward to these municipalities improving on their current audit opinion. Your generation of councillors must usher in an era of clean audit opinions. This is not a far-fetched dream – it is doable and it must be done. We also invite municipal councils to start cracking the whip – We need to see action against those who ignore clear prescripts of the law and do things their own way,” Mathabatha said.
According to the Premier, the issues of good governance and sound financial management are not just cosmetic issues – they are real issues of substance. “The task of ensuring good governance and prudent utilisation of allocated resources goes at the heart of what municipalities are about. Ensuring good governance is also directly linked to need to for government to win the confidence of our people. If we cannot be trusted by the people we lead then we cannot justify our leadership of such people,” Mathabatha added.
“What we need is to work together with shared energy, shared responsibilities, shared accountability, shared resources, shared capacity and shared best practices, shared jubilation in our successes, shared shame in our failures and shared resolve in getting up when we falter,” the Premier concluded.
Story & photos: BARRY VILJOEN
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Cllr Mosema Mpe.
Tshifhango.
Cllr Makoma Matsepe.
Cllr Nakedi Seakamela.
