The Buffalo City Metro mayoral committee has expressed concern over failure of its directorates to finalise and implement the Metro’s audit improvement plan to address findings and recommendations raised by the Auditor-General of South Africa.
BCM’s mayoral committee led by Mayor Princess Faku met earlier this month to process standing committee reports.
The committee noted and resolved upon key issues, including the audit improvement plan, and the reports will be tabled at a council meeting later this month.
In its report the committee has expressed concern that the audit improvement plan has not yet been finalised to address findings raised by the auditor-general.
“It is concerning that directorates are not responding to issues that directly affect them. The members of mayoral committee have a duty to monitor the implementation of the audit improvement plan, and this is the only way we can improve the city’s audit outcomes,” read the report.
The committee report was released less than two weeks before the arrival of Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke in Buffalo City to discuss the 2022/23 municipal audit outcomes with Premier Oscar Mabuyane.
The meeting was held at the provincial Auditor-General’s office in Vincent, East London on Tuesday, March 18.
The Auditor-General’s audit outcomes released last August has shown that BCM regressed from an unqualified audit opinion with findings to a qualified audit, mainly due to internal control deficiencies.
BCM had instability in the municipal manager position during the audit year, which according to AG’s findings, made the control environment weaknesses worse.
Maluleke said one of BCM’s bulk outflow sewers caused environmental harm by releasing untreated wastewater into the Nahoon River, prompting her office to notify the accounting officer of a material irregularity because of harm to the general public.
Maluleke’s report also criticised BCM for its failure to fully complete the multi-million rand Zwelitsha bulk sewer project, which has since been halted due to community unrest, contractor non-performance, procurement irregularities and subsequent litigation processes.
