During today’s SCOPA proceedings, ActionSA MPL Masego Kodisang raised serious concerns about continued consultant expenditure in municipalities that remain unable to achieve credible financial management outcomes.
In Tswaing Local Municipality, approximately R17 million was spent on financial reporting consultants, yet still received a qualified audit opinion with material misstatements. Despite this, the municipality incurred R130.4 million in unauthorised expenditure during the 2024/25 financial year, bringing its cumulative unauthorised expenditure balance to approximately R711 million.
MPL Kodisang further questioned why Bojanala Platinum District Municipality spent R29 million on external consultants for financial statements, yet the quality of the statements regressed, with 12 material line items requiring adjustments.
In Moses Kotane Local Municipality, consultant expenditure included R11.4 million for the preparation of financial statements and a further R9.6 million for asset management services, raising similar concerns about the effectiveness and value of these contracts.
ActionSA maintains that municipalities cannot continue to spend millions on consultants while recurring audit failures, unauthorised expenditure and weak financial controls persist year after year.
ActionSA will continue to use all oversight mechanisms available through the Provincial Legislature and SCOPA to demand accountability, expose wasteful expenditure and ensure that public funds are redirected towards improving service delivery rather than sustaining a cycle of dependency on consultants.
ActionSA Athol Trollip: Former DA heavyweight, now a key ActionSA leader in the Eastern Cape.
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