Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke on Wednesday presenting the consolidated general report on local government audit outcomes for 2024-25.
South Africa’s local government sector has recorded some notable audit improvements over the past five years, but Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke has warned that persistent financial mismanagement, weak accountability and deteriorating performance in major metros continue to pose significant risks to service delivery, economic growth and public confidence.
Presenting the latest local government audit outcomes for the 2024/25 financial year, Maluleke on Wednesday said the overall state of local government remains concerning despite progress in reducing the number of municipalities receiving the worst audit opinions.
“Based on the overall audit outcomes for 2024/25 and the insights from our audit work at metropolitan municipalities and the management of finances, infrastructure, procurement, contracts and consequences, we can only conclude that limited progress has been achieved and that the state of local government remains concerning,” Maluleke said.
The report shows that 57% of municipalities remained unchanged from their audit status in 2020/21, while 15% regressed, including municipalities that previously achieved clean audits and three metropolitan municipalities. These regressions account for 24% of total local government expenditure, highlighting the scale of the challenge.
