Gauteng municipalities are drowning in debt: Maile

Staff Reporter

Gauteng finance MEC Lebogang Maile has raised concerns regarding the municipal audit outcomes for the 2022/23 financial year. 

Addressing a two-day Local Government Turnaround Summit in Johannesburg, Maile said that out of the 11 municipalities in the province, only seven received unqualified audit opinions.

The summit was opened by provincial cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) MEC Jacob Mamabolo, and featured addresses by Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi and COGTA Deputy Minister Dickson Masemola.

It was also attended by leaders from municipalities across Gauteng, as well as experts from academia and the private sector.

Maile raised particular concerns over the City of Ekurhuleni’s regression from a clean audit to an unqualified opinion, with findings primarily due to non-compliance issues. 

Mogale City and Emfuleni local municipalities, while addressing specific matters that led to prior-year qualifications, encountered new qualification issues, causing them to stagnate with qualified audit opinions.

Merafong City Local