Public Interest SA Expresses Grave Concern over AGSA Report on Local Government Audit Outcomes
- Bagaetsho
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
MEDIA STATEMENT
Johannesburg, Thursday, 29 May 2025 — Public Interest SA notes with deep concern the Auditor-General of South Africa’s Consolidated General Report on Local Government Audit Outcomes for 2023–2024, which lays bare the continued and systemic failures in governance, fiscal accountability, and service delivery across South Africa’s municipalities.
The Auditor-General, Ms Tsakani Maluleke, has once again issued a clarion call — indeed, a final warning — to political and administrative leadership at local government level, urging urgent and decisive corrective action to reverse the deteriorating state of municipal governance. Public Interest SA echoes this call and urges all relevant stakeholders to treat this report not as a routine audit summary, but as a national emergency signal that demands immediate, coordinated, and measurable action.
The report reveals, amongst others, that only 41 municipalities (16%) achieved clean audits, while 40 regressed in their audit outcomes. Most troubling is the continued trend of disclaimed audit opinions, with several municipalities repeatedly failing to meet legislated reporting deadlines and maintaining chronic fiscal mismanagement — despite managing substantial public budgets. The fact that municipalities with a combined budget of over R6.85 billion failed to submit financials on time is a damning indictment of administrative negligence and political indifference.
Furthermore, the report illustrates a collapse in institutional integrity, with municipalities often showing blatant disregard for the rule of law, the environment, and their constitutional mandate to provide services to communities. The Auditor-General rightly notes the failure of intergovernmental cooperation and the absence of effective oversight by national and provincial authorities. This weak governance ecosystem perpetuates a cycle of impunity, in which financial and service delivery failures go unpunished and uncorrected.
Public Interest SA is particularly disturbed by the erosion of public trust resulting from this state of dysfunction. Communities across South Africa are subjected daily to the consequences of local government failure: water shortages, pothole-riddled roads, uncollected waste, pollution, and decaying infrastructure — despite the allocation of R68.4 billion for infrastructure projects during the period under review.
It iis deeply troubling to learn that the Material Irregularity (MI) process, a mechanism under the Auditor-General’s enhanced mandate, continues to be underutilised by accountable authorities. There is a conspicuous absence of consequence management and recovery of losses, which fosters a culture of non-responsiveness, mismanagement and moral decay within the public administration.
We therefore call for:
Immediate action by national and provincial governments to intervene in municipalities with repeat audit failures, including the institution of Section 139 interventions where warranted.
Targeted accountability mechanisms for political office bearers and municipal managers who preside over disclaimed audits and failed service delivery.
A national summit on local government reform, bringing together civil society, government, business, and oversight bodies to develop a comprehensive turnaround strategy rooted in transparency, capability, and ethical governance.
Strengthening the Auditor-General’s referral and enforcement powers, ensuring that material irregularities are acted upon by law enforcement and prosecutorial bodies without delay.
Public Interest SA remains committed to defending the constitutional rights of South Africans and promoting ethical, accountable, and effective governance. We urge communities to play an active role in demanding transparency and service delivery, and we call on Parliament to treat this report as a matter of utmost national priority.
The time for further reports, pledges, and workshops has passed. Only resolute and collective action can now prevent the continued collapse of local government in South Africa.
ENDS
__________________________________________________________________________________
Issued by:
Bagaetsho Oteng
Media & Communications, Public Interest SA
