The brazen use of consultants is an indictment of our municipalities’ failing skills. A staggering R1.26-billion was spent on consultants in one year. And only 7% of municipalities used consultants to bridge a vacancy gap – 62% used consultants to cover...
“We have been looted since the days of Bophuthatswana, and every five years a new mafia comes to loot us; we suffer from incompetence, corruption, and politics – it’s bad,” says a colleague about her experience in the Mahikeng municipality in North West.
An unqualified opinion with findings means the municipality was able to produce quality financial statements but struggled to produce quality performance reports and/or to comply with all key legislation. Only 40% achieved this. A disclaimed opinion with findings means the municipality could not provide evidence for most of the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, resulting in the AG being unable to conclude or express an opinion on the credibility of the financial statements. This is true for 10%.So, the audit opinion does count and gives an indication of the state of financial governance.
In total, 79% of municipalities reappointed consultants used in the previous year. So, instead of using the enabling skills development legislation , managers simply take the easy route and employ consultants instead of growing their own timber. So, despite the mandatory and discretionary grant system from the Seta, a ministry dedicated to local government, and the South African Local Government Association programmes, municipalities continue to decline at a rapid pace.The new Municipal Staff Regulations come into effect on 1 July 2022 and are the perfect restart for local government.
Using evidence-based HR auditing will go a long way to ensure that the credibility and integrity of local government is restored.They must be supported through evidence-based processes to ensure success. And this is the challenge for the fifth administration – for politicians and administrators alike to behave themselves into a new implementation culture of excellence.
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