Tshwane's multi-party coalition slammed for 'financial mismanagement'
Deputy Mayor Eugene Modise has defended the City of Tshwane against the DA's criticism that the city is facing another qualified audit report for the 2024/2025 financial year.
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The DA in Tshwane has criticised the multi-party coalition government under Mayor Nasiphi Moya for failing to adequately address unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, resulting in another qualified report 2024/2025 financial year.
According to DA Tshwane spokesperson for finance, Jacqui Uys, an early Auditor-General (AG) report indicated that the city has incurred another qualified report for 2024/2025 financial year.
“Earlier this year the DA raised concerns that the city is not adequately dealing with unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure and that there is unsatisfactory implementation of consequence management, financial recovery of losses and accountability. Early reports on the audit outcome suggest that the Auditor General supports this view,” she said.
She said while the full audit outcome is not available yet, the DA is concerned about reports of R1.7 billion losses in water purchased from Rand Water, through mostly delayed repairs in water leaks, and R1.87 billion in electricity losses, largely due to electricity theft.
“During the 2023/2024 audit cycle the city, under the leadership of DA Mayor Cilliers Brink, cleared six of the 13 qualified areas, building towards an unqualified audit in the 2024/2025 financial year. It is unfortunate that the current ANC government could only clear four of the remaining six qualified areas, resulting in a qualified audit opinion for the year ending July 2025,” Uys said.
Deputy Executive Mayor and MMC for Finance, Eugene Modise, confirmed the city received the AG’s audit report for the 2024/25 financial year, adding that the report has not yet been tabled in council and remains at an internal stage.
However, he said the report provides a clear picture of the city's progress over the past financial year.
“The audit reflects areas where we have strengthened our financial governance and where the work of the administration is beginning to show measurable results,” he said.
Modise recounted that in the 2021/22 financial year Tshwane received an adverse audit opinion, which signalled a deep breakdown in financial management and governance.
“In 2022/23 the city improved marginally, receiving a qualified opinion with thirteen separate qualification areas. Together these outcomes demonstrated the extent of the institutional failures that the administration inherited and the scale of the work required to restore stability,” he said.
According to him, although the audit outcome for 2024/25 remains qualified, the latest report reflects clear and measurable improvements.
“The most notable is the reduction in qualification areas, which have decreased from six in 2023/24 to only two in 2024/25. This marks meaningful progress and confirms that the interventions introduced through the audit outcome remedial action plan are beginning to strengthen the city’s financial governance,” he said.