eThekwini Municipality: Now city scores a clean audit report

eThekwini Municipality has maintained its track record of achieving an unqualified audit report from the Auditor General’s office. 

The Auditor General presented the audit report at a full eThekwini Municipality council meeting on Thursday. 

eThekwini municipal mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda, commended the council for achieving another unqualified audit opinion.

“It is important to indicate that this municipality has never received an adverse, qualified or a disclaimer audit opinion. Therefore, this audit report is a clear indication that we are on a right track to achieve a clean audit,” he said.

He said the audit had been difficult, considering the impact of COVID-19 and the challenges of eThekwini officials being in lockdown and working remotely. However, he said the Auditor-General had found no material misstatements or adjustments to the annual financial statements. 

“This underscores the excellent financial and compliance management of the city. As the leadership of the city, we have also introduced a clean administration and clean audit strategy that reinforces clean governance, effective and efficient service delivery to our people,” he said.

“Due to interventions emanating from this strategy, irregular expenditure decreased in 2019/2020 by more than 50%. Furthermore, up until March 2021, we have also been able to reduce unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure and this trend will continue until the end of the current financial year,” Kaunda said.

He said that the improvement was encouraging and the city’s leadership was committed monitoring finances to prevent irregular expenditure and apply consequence management to those who committed wrongdoing. 

Kaunda said eThekwini Municipality’s management had zero tolerance for fraud and corruption and that it was working closely with law enforcement agencies to bring perpetrators to book.  

“The legacy we want to leave for our future generations is that of a responsive and clean governance. We want every cent of the ratepayers’ money to go towards uplifting the quality of life of all our people,” Kaunda said.