Late Night Talk

The Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu during the release of the 2017-2018 local government audit results said accountability in local government has continued to deteriorate.

The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) audited 257 municipalities and 21 municipal entities for the 2017-2018 financial year.

Shockingly, only 18 municipalities had a clean audit with the highest number, 12, being in the Western Cape. Gauteng, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Cape each have one municipality with a clean audit.

Eusebius McKaiser sits down with Makwetu to dissect the numbers.

In 2015/2016 we started seeing 48 clean audits, that was a promising number.

— Kimi Makwetu, Auditor-General

RELATED: Not a single clean audit for Free State, North West or Limpopo #AGReport

Using the City of Cape Town as an example, Makwetu says if the city is given R100, as auditors, they do not decide how the money is spent.

He states that the city council has the prerogative to decide how the budget is allocated to different communities.

When we go in to check the records of the City of Cape Town we are looking for all sorts of evidence that supports that this R100 was received and was put in the bank account.

— Kimi Makwetu, Auditor-General

The council then decides what goes where in respect of this R100. It is not the decision of the auditors.

— Kimi Makwetu, Auditor-General

RELATED: Western Cape has the most 'clean' municipalities in South Africa

Our responsibility in an audit does not extend to concluding on whether that R20 that went to Langa is sufficient for the needs of the people there.

— Kimi Makwetu, Auditor-General

Makwetu says it is hard for municipalities to account to citizens on service delivery if the council does not have transparency.

In an institution that does not have basic systems of transparency, it is going to take longer to answer a basic question of bills to citizens. You are better off if you adhere to the basic standard of transparency in order for you to be able to transparently and objectively manage your institution.

— Kimi Makwetu, Auditor-General

Listen to the full interview below...