Mayor Blasts Previous Leadership for Financial Turmoil

The City is facing its second consecutive year of receiving a qualified audit report, still battling to overcome obstacles in securing a clean financial record.

In the 2021/2022 financial year, the City faced a devastating adverse opinion, a setback that prompted former Mayor Randall Williams to step down. The Auditor-General’s report uncovered a shocking surge in unauthorized spending, with the Metro’s debt skyrocketing to R2.1 billion—up from just R423 million.

The City’s irregular spending surged to a staggering R2.3 billion in the 2023/24 financial year, a significant jump from the R1.9 billion reported the year before.

The findings stem from the Auditor-General’s annual audit report, which was recently shared with the City’s executive leadership.

The audit report reveals that Tshwane’s overall financial standing has stagnated, maintaining a qualified opinion with issues echoing those of the previous year.

Despite assurances from the former DA-led administration under Brink to turn things around, the outcome has failed to meet expectations.

Mayor spokesperson Zintle Mahlati highlighted that the AG’s report showed only slight improvements in a few areas, with the overall audit results reflecting a period of stagnation.

“Despite claims made by the previous administration, there is little evidence to show that their efforts yielded the expected improvements on the audit outcomes,” she said.

Her remark was made even though Moya had connections to the previous administration, having served as Brink’s deputy.

Brink was removed from office in September following a vote of no confidence, after Moya’s party, ActionSA, entered into a coalition with the ANC and EFF.

Mahlati explained, “Under the leadership of Executive Mayor Nasiphi Moya, the new administration has made addressing the audit concerns raised by the AG a top priority, implementing a focused action plan.”

She emphasised that the administration is committed to strengthening a culture of performance management, accountability, and ethical standards within the public service, recognizing that there is still much work to be done.

“The new political executive has tasked the administration, led by the City Manager, to develop a full set of remedial actions to address the chronic issues identified by the AG. We will be receiving this presentation in the coming week, following which we will take residents into our confidence about plans to materially improve audit outcomes,” she said.

Jacqui Uys, the DA’s spokesperson for finance in Tshwane and former finance MMC, voiced her disappointment over the City’s inability to achieve an unqualified audit, despite the dedicated and thorough efforts invested in reaching this goal.