From Bad To Worse: SA’s Municipal Hall Of Shame Worsens As AG Kimi Makwetu Exit Looms

LUCAS LEDWABA

THE Free State’s municipalities continued what seems to be an unstoppable free fall into the abyss of poor financial management and administration as local government structures failed yet another test with the auditors.

It would have made little difference had Auditor General Kimi Makwetu simply dusted off the grim report he delivered on municipal audit outcomes last year, and presented it again with a few amendments here and there on Wednesday.

Makwetu, who has for the past six years at the helm been expressing the same frustration over a lack of accountablity and adherence to basic accounting principles, would have been forgiven for throwing in a few expletives to accompany some of the unfathomable, lacklustre performances by municipalities.

Take the case of Free State for example.

Last year, Makwetu wrote on his findings on the province’s 2017/18 outcomes: “The Free State local government environment displayed a total breakdown