Ekurhuleni IT failures linked to R2.5bn loss, Mangaung faces R8.9bn unauthorised spending

By Thapelo Molefe

The country’s metropolitan municipalities continue to face serious financial and governance challenges, with Ekurhuleni reporting an estimated R2.5 billion loss linked to information technology failures and cyber breaches, while Mangaung accumulated R8.9 billion in unauthorised expenditure.

The findings are contained in the Standing Committee on Public Accounts’ (SCOPA) draft report on hearings with five metropolitan municipalities held between May and June.

Ekurhuleni and Mangaung emerged among the metros facing serious concerns over financial management, governance, service delivery and consequence management.

The report found that Ekurhuleni’s financial governance had deteriorated from clean audits in 2020/21 and 2021/22 to a qualified audit opinion for the 2024/25 financial year.

The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) found that weaknesses in Ekurhuleni’s IT controls allowed unauthorised manual adjustments and system overrides in its computerised accounts receivable system.

This compromised the reliability of the municipality’s consumer debt records and contributed to the qualified