Staff Reporter
KwaZulu-Natal Finance MEC Francois Rodgers said this week that citizens must demand accountability from municipalities and elected leaders.
“Citizens must actively exercise their democratic rights. Communities have the power to demand accountability, to ask how their money is spent, and to hold elected representatives to account for poor governance and maladministration,” he said.
Rodgers was reacting to Auditor-General Tsakane Maluleke’s 2024-2025 MFMA Audit Outcomes presentation to members of the provincial legislature, in which she again highlighted weak adherence to the Act as a leading cause of recurring audit failures.
Rodgers said those failures were visible in poor financial discipline, weak governance systems and inadequate consequence management, all of which undermined service delivery and eroded public trust in local government.
“The MFMA is not optional — it is a legal and ethical obligation. Poor compliance with the Act leads directly to poor audit outcomes, financial instability, and ultimately the inability of municipalities to deliver basic services to our people. This culture of non-compliance must end,” Rodgers said.
He also commended municipalities that had shown improvement, saying better audit outcomes were achievable where leadership took responsibility seriously.
“We commend municipalities such as Richmond Local Municipality, which have shown that openness to working closely with KZN Treasury, adherence to the MFMA, strong internal controls, and ethical leadership can result in improved audit outcomes.
“These municipalities prove that clean governance is achievable when there is discipline and political will,” he said.
As South Africa heads towards local government elections, Rodgers said the period required intense accountability from political office-bearers.
“Now more than ever, as we head into local government elections, political will is imperative. Politicians must be reminded that they are custodians of public resources, not owners of them. Failure to uphold this responsibility has real consequences for communities,” he said.
KwaZulu-Natal Treasury said it would continue supporting municipalities through technical assistance, capacity building, and oversight.
“There can be no sustainable service delivery without accountability. Clean audits are not about pleasing the Auditor-General and Treasury; they are about restoring integrity in local government and improving the lived realities of our people,” Rodgers said.
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