LEGAL REVIEW RECOMMENDED

Free State named worst-run province in damning Auditor-General report

PRETORIA — 10 May 2024

The Free State emerged as South Africa’s worst-performing province for municipal governance and finances in the Auditor-General’s (AG) latest audit report. No municipality in the province achieved a clean audit for the 2023/24 financial year.

The AG found “widespread legislative non-compliance, poor financial reporting, and weak accountability structures” across the Free State. Six municipalities failed to submit financial statements for auditing – two more than the previous year.

The audit report states: “Most of the municipalities that repeatedly did not submit their financial statements for auditing, or submitted them late, were in the Free State.”

Financial management crises were evident: 81% of Free State municipalities had less than one month’s cash reserves, while combined losses totaled R744.98 million.

Service delivery reporting was largely unreliable, with about 76% of municipalities (13 out of 17) submitting unusable performance reports, blamed on weak planning indicators and poor recordkeeping.

Independent Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke confirmed a clean audit requires accurate financials, credible performance reporting, and adherence to laws. This benchmark remains unmet province-wide.

Professor Daniel Meyer from the University of Johannesburg said the findings show persistent issues plaguing local governments.