The government of the City of Cape Town has been given an unqualified audit report for the first time by Auditor General Shauket Fakie, for its financial year ended June 30 2004, Cape Town executive mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo announced on Wednesday.
“It is with humility that I can announce a great achievement,” Mfeketo said at a press conference. “It is the first time since the new municipal dispensation that the city has managed to attain such a report.
“This ‘clean bill of health’ by one of the country’s state institutions supporting constitutional democracy is excellent for business investment and the economy.
“The city, under our guidance, had to turn around the financial crisis it inherited to bring this about. We had to work in a climate of qualified audits and disclaimers under our predecessor.
“This disproves sceptics and critics, but confirms the benefits of the policies and unified approach we have taken towards city governance.”
She acknowledged that there are still several areas of public administration where improvement is necessary. This included about R3,4-billion owed to the city.
“The auditor general acknowledges some people cannot pay for services, credit-control policies need to be enforced and the city needs to regularly assess and write off bad debt. The city will intensify efforts in this regard.”
Employee service accounts in arrears are declining, however, she noted, and more are signing debit orders to pay what they should.
Another area needed to be improved on is that of tenders not awarded in terms of council policy, she added. The city had implemented a new supply chain process and has taken corrective steps in these cases.
Many other inherited issues have been revolved or are near resolution. This includes fruitless expenditure of R13,7-million on the inner-city bus pilot project initiated under previous governance.
Finally, under-spending of the capital budget was due to restructuring of the city’s budget, she explained.
“We will continue our efforts to improve where we can, especially in areas of priority such as reducing poverty levels and infrastructure programmes,” the mayor pledged. — I-Net Bridge