The City of Tshwane said it had noted a report issued by the auditor-general (AG) that flagged “serious irregularities” and failed to submit correct financial statements for the financial year July 2021 to June 2022.
The leaked 28-page report found that the city’s finances were irregular, while officials and councilors benefited from a flawed procurement process and irregularities.
Audit results
Wasteful and wasteful expenditure was also understated by R1bn because municipalities failed to account for these costs.
The municipality reportedly also failed to disclose the reasons for deviating from supply chain management regulations, according to TimesLIVE.
This resulted in the financial statements being overstated by R488m, the report said.
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Investigation
Mayor Randall Williams confirmed the adverse opinion of the auditor-general said he will investigate the culprits listed in the report.
“Amarmingly the auditor-general has also identified officials and council members who benefit from the supply chain process. The law is very clear that no official from local, provincial, and national government departments or municipal councils can benefit through the supply chain process .
“A proper investigation will be conducted on the list of names compiled by the auditor-general and appropriate action will be taken to recover the money and bring the perpetrators to justice,” Williams said.
disappointment
Williams said the negative opinion for the City of Tshwane was disappointing.
“This is not a result that is remotely acceptable in the context of good governance. We have started work to correct the city. We are working with the National Treasury and the auditor-general to address these findings.
“The National Treasury has further provided additional professional staff (two former CFOs) to assist the city. We will also bring in an external audit firm to begin an interim audit of the first half of this financial year ending December 31, 2022.
Williams added the city of Tshwane is “firmly committed” to ensuring it improves audit results in the city.
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