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Celebrating their SALGA award for improved financial management are, in the front, from left to right, the mayor of the Makhado Municipality, Cllr David Mutavhatsindi, the municipal manager, Mr Isaac Mutshinyali, and the chief financial officer, Ms Palesa Makhubela. At the back are the respective heads of portfolios, Cllr Richard Thandavhathu (portfolio head: sports, arts and culture), Cllr Jackie Underwood (disaster and moral regeneration), Cllr Gideon Tshavhuyo (finance), Cllr Percy Mashimbye (community services), Chief Whip Rudzani Ludere, Cllr Dzawele Ratshikuni (special programmes) and Cllr Samson Baloyi (corporate services).

Municipality very proud of top SALGA award

 

The Makhado Municipality proudly displayed its 2014 SALGA award for improved financial management at a media briefing on 22 August.

Mayor David Mutavhatsindi said that the Makhado Municipality had received the award from the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) for the municipality in the province that had improved the most in their financial management (among 30 municipalities). “Two years ago, our political and administrative leadership announced that we would make a significant ‘disruption’ to the status quo and pledged to change it for the better. We are now starting to get acknowledgements,” Cllr Mutavhatsindi said.  He referred to the fact that, unlike many other municipalities, they had spent their whole municipal infrastructure grant (MIG) and returned no money meant for service delivery to the national treasury. Instead, they qualified for increased MIG funds to the amount of R45 million, which the mayor said “will be spent effectively and efficiently”.

In addition, the 2012/13 Auditor General (AG) report of the municipality showed an improvement to a qualified audit opinion after many years of disclaimers and adverse opinions. “I am sure we are not going to regress. I will be surprised if we don’t get a clean audit. We asked the AG what still needed to be done to achieve a clean audit,” the mayor said.

A “clean audit” is the popular term for an unqualified audit opinion. Auditor General Kimi Makwetu said that 30 out of South Africa’s 278 municipalities had obtained clean audits for the 2012/13 financial year. No municipality achieved a clean audit in Limpopo, North West, Eastern Cape and the Free State. In the 2011/12 financial year, only 13 municipalities obtained a clean audit. Overall, there were 63 improvements, with the Makhado Municipality ranking among them.

A media representative asked whether the poor financial management in the past had been deliberate or due to maladministration or corruption. The mayor answered that there had been a correlation between financial woes and lack of expertise. “About ten years of disclaimers haunted us. Now we have the right people in the right positions. I have seen our CFO working until late at night. Currently, a strong, efficient external audit committee is assisting us and our internal audit committee is also doing us wonders,” Mutavhatsindi said.

He added that, with the appointments two years ago of Mr Sakkie Mutshinyali as municipal manager and Ms Palesa Makhubela as chief financial officer, the situation at the municipality had greatly improved.

 

Date:29 August 2014

By: Linda van der Westhuizen

Linda van der Westhuizen has been with Zoutnet since 2001. She has a heart for God, people and their stories. Linda believes that every person is unique and has a special story to tell. It follows logically that human interest stories is her speciality. Linda finds working with people and their leaders in the economic, educational, spiritual and political arena very rewarding. “I have a special interest in what God is doing in our town, province and nation and what He wants us to become,” says Linda.

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