One of South Africa’s provinces is facing serious challenges in governance, financial management, and service delivery, according to the Auditor-General’s (AG) latest Consolidated General Report on Local Government Audit Outcomes for 2023/24.
According to BusinessTech, the report, supported by commentary from independent experts such as Professor Daniel Meyer from the University of Johannesburg, outlines persistent problems across the province’s municipalities, none of which achieved a clean audit during the review period.
A clean audit means that financial statements are free from material misstatements, performance objectives are reported accurately, and all relevant legislation is complied with.
South Africa’s worst-run province
And according to these findings, the Free State was revealed to be at the bottom of the barrel in terms of worst-run provinces in the country.
The AG’s report identified widespread non-compliance with legislation, poor financial reporting, and weak accountability structures as recurring issues in the Free State.
Notably, six municipalities failed to submit financial statements for auditing in 2023/24, an increase from four the previous year. Late or missing submissions hinder oversight and delay potential interventions.
“Most of the municipalities that repeatedly did not submit their financial statements for auditing, or submitted them late, were in the Free State,” the AG revealed.
Performance reporting also raised concerns. Thirteen municipalities, about 76% of those in the province, submitted reports that were deemed unreliable or not useful for assessing service delivery.
The report attributes this to a lack of proper planning, inadequate performance indicators, and poor recordkeeping.
The financial position of most Free State municipalities was also described as precarious. The report noted that 81% had enough cash reserves to sustain operations for one month or less. Altogether, municipalities in the province reported net losses of approximately R744.98 million for the period under review.
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