Pretoria - The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) has welcomed Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu’s consolidated report on the country’s 2014/15 municipal audit outcomes, which names KZN as one of South Africa’s best performing provinces.
“KZN, which has the highest number of municipalities, has for the third consecutive time proved beyond reasonable doubt that our municipalities are in a good state of health.
“KZN municipalities are some of the best performers countrywide, with the number of unqualified audits with no findings increasing steadily… showing a great improvement in the management of councils across the province,” said KZN MEC for Cogta Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
According to the report, 22 of KZN’s municipalities and municipal entities received a clean audit for the 2014/15 financial year and 34 others have received an unqualified audit with minor emphasis of matters. The number of poorly performing municipalities has decreased significantly.
“The Auditor-General has commended mayors and other municipal structures for the great improvement in the audit outcomes of our councils and we add our praise to this assessment, which puts KZN in a class of its own when it comes to exceptional municipal performance,” said MEC Dube-Ncube.
KZN Cogta provides wide ranging support to municipalities, as local government institutions face increasing pressure to perform more effectively and efficiently amid the country’s tightening fiscal discipline necessitated by the difficult economic climate.
“Our appreciation goes to the mayors and all oversight structures in KZN municipalities for their focused attention and decisive leadership, which continue to ensure that basic administrative and financial discipline is enforced across the board,” the MEC said. – SAnews.gov.za
