NEWS
2
December 18, 2014
polokwane
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he Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) Limpopo delegation is the biggest from all provinces across the country to swell the structure’s four-day People’s Assembly ranks in Bloemfontein where Julius Malema
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and his top leadership structure were unanimously affirmed at around midnight on Sunday. Speaking from Bloemfontein on Sunday, EFF Provincial Leader Michael Mathebe referred to a united, incidentfree assembly which he described as one of the best he ever attended. According to him 857 delegates
made up the Limpopo delegation. He alluded to Malema’s address to an estimated 2 600 delegates from all nine provinces talking to, among others, preparations for the 2016 local government elections, branches to be launched before the end of 2015, membership having to be renewed and more members to be recruited.
Admin team to finally go From page 1 Yesterday at about noon Provincial Government spokesperson Phuti Seloba stated in a media release that the signing of the memorandum effectively returned the powers of the Members of the Executive Council (MECs) and heads of the affected departments, pending ratification by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) early in 2015. According to Seloba the administrators were expected to furnish Premier Stan Mathabatha with a hand-over report early in the new year. Seloba continued stating the provincial government was committed to ensuring that Limpopo remained stable and progressive and that they would never get back to where they were prior to 5 December 2011. At the same time there is even more reason to celebrate as the audit outcomes of Limpopo municipalities for the 2013/14 financial year have shown much improvement, simultaneously spelling a slight improvement for Polokwane Municipality. The institution managed to elevate itself from disclaimers of the past by obtaining a qualified opinion. The audit outcomes that were released last Friday showed a huge improvement compared to last year with more than half of the audited institutions obtaining unqualified opinions with findings. Even if one municipality was not getting an unqualified opinion it remained a concern but they were still celebrating those who performed well, reckoned South African Local Government Association (Salga) Provincial Executive Officer Thapelo Matlala who discussed the results with Polokwane Observer last week. Of the 33 audits conducted, those of 30 entities were finalised. They included Greater Tzaneen Economic Development Agency,
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Polokwane Housing Association and Sekhukhune Development Agency, which received unqualified opinions with findings. Disclaimers were the writing on the wall for Vhembe District Municipality as well as Ba-Phalaborwa, Ephraim Mogale, Fetakgomo, Thabazimbi and Tubatse Municipalities. Apart from Polokwane Municipality those with qualified audit opinions are Elias Motsoaledi, Greater Giyani, Greater Letaba, LepelleNkumpi, Modimolle, Molemole, Mookgophong and Mutale Municipalities. Unqualified with findings was the outcome for Capricorn, Sekhukhune and Waterberg District Municipalities as well as the municipalities of Bela-Bela, Blouberg, Lephalale, Makhado, Makhudutamaga, Maruleng, Mogalakwena, Musina and Thulamela. The audits of Mopani District Municipality as well as Greater Tzaneen and Aganang Municipalities were not yet finalised due to unresolved issues between the Auditor-General (AG) and the institutions and in the case of the latter a strike that would have impacted on submission of documentation by the due date, according to Matlala. It was, however, reliably learnt that unresolved quality issues questioned by the AG impacted on the finalisation of the audits of Mopani District and Greater Tzaneen Municipalities. Matlala further referred to last year’s worrisome situation and said they have noted a steady improvement in affairs. Salga was confident local government in the province was on the right path, that it was maturing and would build public confidence, he added. “For us this is a great stride in ensuring there is accountability and the public purse is used in a responsible way,” he remarked. However, the six entities with disclaimers remained a concern, he stressed. It seemed like a tall order, but the ideal was for all municipalities to get an unqualified opinion, Matlala reckoned. He highlighted the shining examples that called for celebration, like Capricorn and Sekhukhune District Municipalities and Makhado Municipality. According to Matlala the right people with appropriate qualifications in positions started bearing fruit. He stressed that leadership and the roles played by mayors were important in audit outcomes and that improved cooperation through consultation with the AG assisted a great deal the past year. Matlala further explained that Salga was conducting a thorough analysis of the outcomes to identify problem areas which they intended addressing during the hosting of the annual Finance Week in the beginning of the year. In this regard he mentioned general accounting standards and asset management remaining challenges, he said. Going forward consistency in maintaining unqualified audit outcomes was important and improving the audit outcomes for those who did not perform well would be the focal area of work for Salga through the Municipal Audit Support Programme (MASP), he indicated. He concluded saying they congratulated and appreciated the achievements of the performers and that others should learn from the examples. It was learnt that the outcomes were regarded as a huge improvement in general, despite a lot still needing to be done. Perceived intervention by Mathabatha as well as consequences in cases of poor performance surely played a part, an independent source conceded. The fact that accounting officers did not want to accept negative outcomes was a good sign, it was added. “Overall it seemed record keeping and control have improved, which is positive.”