South Africa’s provinces show signs of turnaround – but service delivery is still a massive issue

THE Auditor-General (AG) of South Africa, Tsakani Maluleke, says there has been a “gradual upward trend” in the national and provincial government audit outcomes this year; however, there are still major shortfalls in service delivery.

“While we are cautiously optimistic about this trend, we have found that service delivery, good performance and financial discipline are not yet evident at those auditees with the greatest impact on the lives of South Africans and on government finances,” said Maluleke.

The auditor-general said that service delivery improvement across the country could be improved by governments delivering on their prescribed mandates and a culture of accountability being instilled in the relevant institutions.

The AG noted that key service delivery portfolios such as basic education, health, public works and transport alongside the state-owned entities are responsible for more than 30% of the expenditure budget – but have the worst audit outcomes every year.