OPINION| The AG’s report shows that decisive intervention in municipal performance is needed – Mavuso

 By Busiswe Mavuso

• Our metros are the economic hubs of our country and it is completely unacceptable that most cannot get basic financial management right.
• Challenges faced by municipalities are driven by a lack of financial management skills and vacancies – there simply aren’t enough qualified people working in local government to ensure the accounts are done properly.
• The state of financial management tracks with the level of basic service delivery – Johannesburg, which most of our biggest companies call home, has been in a state of gradual decline for many years.

The financial state of our municipalities is shocking and a serious constraint on economic growth.

Only one of the eight metros gets a clean audit – Cape Town – with Buffalo City, Tshwane, Mangaung and Nelson Mandela Bay getting qualified audits indicating material failures in the accounts.

Johannesburg, eThekwini and Ekurhuleni received unqualified audits but with findings, indicating