Cogta committee applauds Salga’s clean audit, raises concerns over councillors’ academic qualifications

By Charles Molele

The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has commended the SA Local Government Association for achieving another clean audit outcome in the current financial year.

Salga recently briefed the committee on its annual report. 

Its performance was reviewed alongside other entities, including the Municipal Demarcation Board and the Commission for Cultural, Linguistic, and Religious Rights, which were also congratulated for their solid annual reports for the 2023/24 financial year.

Commending Salga, the portfolio committee said that clean audits must lead to tangible improvements for communities.

“Clean audits are just the beginning and not the end of the road. We must ensure municipalities deliver services to the satisfaction of our people,” iot said.

However, the committee raised concerns about the lack of skills among municipal councillors, particularly the alarming statistic that 26% of councillors nationwide do not hold a matric qualification, despite overseeing multi-million-rand budgets.

This