Audits find metro city finances are better
Auditor-general reports significant improvement
July 17, 2009
By Donwald Pressly
Metropolitan cities had shown significant financial management improvements with no declines, a trend that could be linked to pressure from opposition parties on the ruling party, auditor-general Terence Nombembe's audit report revealed.
Improved performances were reported for the audit outcomes of four of the six major metropolitan cities. Three of these moved into the best-performing audit outcome category, including the only not run by the ruling party (Cape Town), along with the ANC-run eThekwini and Johannesburg.
Reporting the audit outcomes for the 2007/08 financial year, Nombembe said the four metropoles that improved their audit outcomes were the Nelson Mandela (including Port Elizabeth, Despatch and Uitenhage), Cape Town, Johannesburg and eThekwini (Durban and KwaMashu) metros.
Gauteng's three metros, according to Nombembe "continued to improve its results by obtaining a financially unqualified (with no other matters) opinion".
Johannesburg, under mayor Amos Masondo, was in the best category, while the financial statements of Ekurhuleni (the former East Rand) and Tshwane (Pretoria) were qualified. The latter two maintained the same audit outcome as the previous year.
No metro fell into the adverse category, the second worst, or into the disclaimer category, the worst.
Cape Town, run by a coalition including the DA, ID and United Democratic Movement, raised its performance from financially unqualified (with other matters) to the best audit outcome: "financially unqualified (with no other matters)".
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This was while Helen Zille, now Western Cape premier, was mayor of the city. Deputy Mayor Ian Nielson was then in charge of finance.
The Nelson Mandela metro, under mayor Nondumiso Maphazi, rose from a qualified audit opinion, the third-worst category, to a financially unqualified (with other matters) opinion, the second-best category, in this time.
The opinion on eThekwini, under mayor Obed Mlaba, moved from financially unqualified (with other matters) to financially unqualified (with no other matters).
The Durban Marine Theme Park and the International Convention Centre maintained their financially unqualified (with other matters) status.
Nombembe reported that a "receivables qualification" of Ekurhuleni - then under mayor Duma Nkosi but now under Mayor Lentheng Helen Mekgwe - was due to incompleteness and inaccuracy of revenue as well as the writing off of R211 million in consumer debts.
Tshwane did not recognise assets with a purchase value less than R10 000, but the cumulative amount of these assets over the years was about R155m, Nombembe reported.
Tshwane and Ekurhuleni had problems of inadequate reconciliation between the valuation roll and billings systems relating to property rates revenue.
The Free State, Northern Cape, North West and Mpumalanga provinces do not have metropolitan cities.
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Auditor-general reports significant improvement
July 17, 2009
By Donwald Pressly
Metropolitan cities had shown significant financial management improvements with no declines, a trend that could be linked to pressure from opposition parties on the ruling party, auditor-general Terence Nombembe's audit report revealed.
Improved performances were reported for the audit outcomes of four of the six major metropolitan cities. Three of these moved into the best-performing audit outcome category, including the only not run by the ruling party (Cape Town), along with the ANC-run eThekwini and Johannesburg.
Reporting the audit outcomes for the 2007/08 financial year, Nombembe said the four metropoles that improved their audit outcomes were the Nelson Mandela (including Port Elizabeth, Despatch and Uitenhage), Cape Town, Johannesburg and eThekwini (Durban and KwaMashu) metros.
Gauteng's three metros, according to Nombembe "continued to improve its results by obtaining a financially unqualified (with no other matters) opinion".
Johannesburg, under mayor Amos Masondo, was in the best category, while the financial statements of Ekurhuleni (the former East Rand) and Tshwane (Pretoria) were qualified. The latter two maintained the same audit outcome as the previous year.
No metro fell into the adverse category, the second worst, or into the disclaimer category, the worst.
Cape Town, run by a coalition including the DA, ID and United Democratic Movement, raised its performance from financially unqualified (with other matters) to the best audit outcome: "financially unqualified (with no other matters)".
Click here!
This was while Helen Zille, now Western Cape premier, was mayor of the city. Deputy Mayor Ian Nielson was then in charge of finance.
The Nelson Mandela metro, under mayor Nondumiso Maphazi, rose from a qualified audit opinion, the third-worst category, to a financially unqualified (with other matters) opinion, the second-best category, in this time.
The opinion on eThekwini, under mayor Obed Mlaba, moved from financially unqualified (with other matters) to financially unqualified (with no other matters).
The Durban Marine Theme Park and the International Convention Centre maintained their financially unqualified (with other matters) status.
Nombembe reported that a "receivables qualification" of Ekurhuleni - then under mayor Duma Nkosi but now under Mayor Lentheng Helen Mekgwe - was due to incompleteness and inaccuracy of revenue as well as the writing off of R211 million in consumer debts.
Tshwane did not recognise assets with a purchase value less than R10 000, but the cumulative amount of these assets over the years was about R155m, Nombembe reported.
Tshwane and Ekurhuleni had problems of inadequate reconciliation between the valuation roll and billings systems relating to property rates revenue.
The Free State, Northern Cape, North West and Mpumalanga provinces do not have metropolitan cities.
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