Ekurhuleni Mayor, Speaker, City Manager and MMC of Finance allegedly concealing Audit Report, to hide Adverse Findings
Media Statement by Cllr. Fanyana Nkosi — DA Spokesperson for Finance in the City of Ekurhuleni
Date: 31 January 2024
Release: Immediate
Type: Media Statement
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni has confirmed that on the 19th of November 2023, the Auditor-General (AG) submitted its draft Audit Report for the 2022/23 Financial Year to the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) and informed the Speaker of Council on the 1st of December 2023 of the audit delay.
The Auditor-General’s Report was due for tabling in the November 2023, Ordinary Council Meeting, as determined in accordance with the Municipal Finance Management Act of 2003 (MFMA). The Speaker of Council, Cllr. Nthabiseng Tshivhenga, however, misled Councillors in the 25 January 2024, Extraordinary Council Meeting, stating that the report was not received and was delayed on the side of the Auditor-General. The Mayor was also complicit in the cover-up by remaining silent on the issue even though he had full knowledge on its whereabouts.
To give background to our claims, according to Section 126 (1–2) of the MFMA, the Accounting Officer (City Manager) must prepare the annual financial statements of the City within two months after the end of the financial year, and in addition, prepare and submit consolidated annual financial statements within three months after the end of the financial year to the Auditor-General, for auditing. According to subsection 3 of the Act, the Auditor-General must audit those financial statements and submit an audit report on those statements to the Accounting Officer within three months of receipt of the statements.
Furthermore, subsection 4 of the Act, states that “if the Auditor-General is unable to complete an audit within three months of receiving the financial statements from an accounting officer, the Auditor-General must promptly submit a report outlining the reasons for the delay to the relevant municipality or municipal entity and to the relevant provincial legislature and Parliament”.
With concern that there may be a breach on the side of the Auditor-General, the DA sought to determine the whereabouts of the Audit report.
The DA forwarded a memorandum to the Office of the Speaker on the 30th of January 2024, requesting feedback on the tabling of the Audit Report. To find support for the claims made by the Speaker during the Extraordinary Council Meeting, the DA asked if the Auditor-General had submitted the Audit Report, and if not, if a report was submitted outlining reasons for not submitting the audit as required per subsection 4 of the Act mentioned above. No response was received to the questions posed in the Memorandum, nor was a copy received of the latter mentioned report from the Auditor-General.
We further forwarded an email to the Office of the Auditor-General’s Office, also querying the whereabouts of the Audit Report, to which we were informed by an official from the office, that the City received the Draft Audit Report on the 19th of November 2023, and that it was undergoing a dispute process with the Office of the Auditor-General regarding the findings of the report. The official also stated that the Speaker was also informed about the delay in the audit on the 1st of December 2023, which was not formally communicated to the Council.
The Speaker, therefore, misled the Council, by stating that the audit report was outstanding on the part of the Auditor-General, when in fact it had been received by the City. According to subsection 126 (5) of the MFMA, “Once the Auditor-General has submitted an audit report to the accounting officer, no person other than the Auditor-General may alter the audit report or the financial statements to which the audit report relates”. The DA is concerned that there may be an attempt by the Executive Mayor, City Manager and MMC of Finance, to conceal and change the findings of the report, hence the constant vagueness around its tabling.
According to Section 41 (2) of the Municipal Systems Act: “A municipality must table its annual report within one month of receiving the audit report”.
Given that the draft audit report was received in November 2023, it is in contravention of this Act as it should have been tabled in Council for approval and deliberation.
Both the Annual Report and the Audit Report are currently outstanding beyond their legislated deadlines.
The DA will not rest on its laurels until the Audit Report is tabled in Council, untainted, and untouched from the hands of the corrupt. In the meantime, we have called for the resignation of the Speaker for misleading Council and attempting to conceal the whereabouts of the report.
Media Enquiries
Cllr. Fanyana Nkosi
DA Spokesperson for Finance, City of Ekurhuleni
063 649 7044
