Unqualified cadres undermining municipalities

Chief financial officers who only have matric qualifications and 70% of municipalities unable to prove the services they promised were actually delivered were just two of the shocking findings made by Auditor-General Terence Nombembe in his report on the state of local government. And, notes a City Press report, Nombembe has warned that unless politicians stop deploying cadres to key positions, clean audits and good service delivery will continue to be illusive. The report says one of the worst things his office found was the continued employment of unqualified people in critical positions and the lack of 'sanctions' against those who had failed. In a number of Eastern Cape municipalities, officials armed only with matric were employed as CFOs. Full City Press report

Nearly R250m was spent by municipalities on consultants, says a report on the News24 site. The AG noted in his report that in 90% of the municipalities, there were no vacancies in the finance department, but consultants were hired anyway. KwaZulu-Natal spent R79.8m on consultants, with an average of R1.9m per municipality; in the Free State, 24 of the 27 municipalities spent R32m on consultants, up 6% on the previous year; and Limpopo's 22 municipalities spent R23m on consultants. Full report on the News24 site

Auditors examining municipalities have been intimidated and instructed to cover up evidence of corruption, the Internal Audit Association says. 'In some cases, auditors are given instructions that 'you will sweep this under the carpet',' Claudelle von Eck, the association's CEO, was quoted in a report on the Fin24.com site as saying. 'It becomes worrying because internal auditors are meant to be the whistle-blowers.' She said some members had reported intimidation, but the association had no power to intervene. Full report on the Fin24.com site

But the SA Local Government Association is fighting back, saying a biased picture of (a) virtual collapse of financial management in many local governments, including the major cities, is being painted. According to The Citizen, Salga said local government was aware it faced problems. Some municipalities had a long way to go before they could reassure residents they were managing their finances properly and that public money was being well spent, he said. 'But local government's ability to manage their finances and meet stringent financial control requirements is by no means as bleak as the initial reaction to the AG's report might suggest.' Full report in The Citizen

Disciplinary measures have been taken against nine municipal officials whose companies have received payments exceeding R1m, notes a SABC News report. Possible money laundering also came to light after the analysis of bank statements of six companies showed links to former or current spouses, and/or relatives of two municipal officials. At least six officials in management positions have no qualifications at all, and there are inconsistencies in the qualifications of at least 22 others. Jason Ngobeni, the city manager of Tshwane, said Tshwane was kept abreast of the investigation and had taken disciplinary measures against officials as the investigation unfolded. Full SABC News report

This rampant corruption is hampering service delivery, the DA says. DA spokesperson for community safety in Tshwane, Karen Meyer said Tshwane's 'culture of corruption' would destroy any vision the city had for economic growth and service delivery, says a report on the News24 site. The SIU, originally tasked by President Jacob Zuma in November 2010 with investigating allegations of corruption and mismanagement, found amongst others, that 65 Tshwane officials had business interests in 66 companies working with the metro involving R185m. Full report on the News24 site

Former senior Gauteng health officials have been charged with fraud and SIU spokesperson Boy Ndlala said that charges against several of the officials have been referred to the Anti-Corruption Task Team for further action. Business Day reports that the involvement of the Anti-Corruption Task Team, a multi-agency team, indicated that the matter was to be pursued from all possible angles, suggesting that some of the issues uncovered by the SIU were seen to involve 'high-level corruption'. It is made up of the National Prosecuting Authority (including the Asset and Forfeiture Unit), the Hawks, the Financial Intelligence Centre, SA Revenue Service and the SIU. The Times quotes Gauteng health spokesperson Simon Zwane as saying that systems were in place to prevent widespread fraud. But advocacy groups Section 27 and the Treatment Action Campaign called for the national Health Department to intervene in the running of the Gauteng health department's finances. Section 27 researcher Daygan Eagar called for a full forensic audit of the department and the identification of fake employees on the payroll. Full Business Day report Full report in The Times

Accusations of corruption, meanwhile, dog the government's R15bn plan to replace its ageing municipal water system. This is over the repeated appointment of one company, Lesira-Teq, to install water meters that keep breaking down. A Sunday Times report notes that despite a litany of complaints about the quality and price of its products, Lesira-Teq has won contracts worth R614m in the past five years. The report said in addition, it could reveal that Lesira-Teq was secretly awarded a three-year, R205m contract by the Ekurhuleni municipality last year without following proper procurement procedures. This contract is currently the subject of a Special Investigating Unit probe, which led this month to the suspension of five municipal officials, including CFO Zakes Myeza, Water Department head Slindokuhle Hadebe and chief water engineer Nomsa Malimabe. Full Sunday Times report (subscription needed)