What happens when a company’s managers do not spend shareholders’ money as they should? They get fired. What happens when politicians fail to ensure taxpayers’ money is spent properly? Nothing. At least that has been the story of SA’s municipalities so far. But if auditor-general Kimi Makwetu had his way they probably would be fired.
Makwetu painted a dire picture of SA’s municipalities during this week’s release of the audit outcomes for the 2017/2018 financial year. As in previous years the audit outcomes regressed, with only 18 municipalities hanging on to their clean audit status. More worryingly, the financial status of 76% of municipalities was deemed of concern and requiring intervention. This, and the fact that 92% of municipalities audited had material noncompliance with key legislation, should elicit more than just passing outrage.
For the moment he can only try to get his message through to those in power in local councils and the provincial executive that play an oversight role, to comply with the law.
Makwetu’s frustration was palpable on Wednesday, when he once again had to drive home the message of deteriorating accountability in municipalities, which either disregard his findings completely or fail to investigate them. The message of failing accountability is not new, but he seems to be screaming into an abyss as nothing changes. The situation just gets worse.
While Makwetu is good at his job he is no magician and cannot do what is outside of his power. For the moment he can only try to get his message through to those in power in local councils and the provincial executive that play an oversight role, to comply with the law. This should not be something that can be casually ignored.
This situation will change for the next financial year’s audit through legislation that gives his constitutionally created office the teeth to act, including hitting municipal officials where it hurts – their pockets. In the absence of this he has been restricted to emphasising the role of leadership in turning municipalities around.
His explanation for what happens when accountability is lacking at the top is logical: “The leadership sets the tone at the top of any organisation. If an organisation’s leaders are unethical, have a disregard for governance, compliance and control, and are not committed to transparency and accountability, it will filter through to the lower levels of the organisation. Inevitably, a culture of poor discipline, impunity and nondelivery will develop, leading to the collapse of the organisation”
While Makwetu referred specifically to municipal managers, mayors, premiers and provincial executives, this is something President Cyril Ramaphosa will have to drive from the front, if only because SA’s municipalities have to function for the economy to grow, create more jobs and bring in investment – all key targets of his presidency.
During his reply to the debate on his state of the nation address on Wednesday afternoon Ramaphosa said in local government, as in all parts of the state, where systems fail there must be accountability. He spoke about how local government should be professionalised and that training for officials should be enhanced. Well, the proof is in the pudding and there’s nothing to be seen.
He added that SA’s largest urban economies must play a far greater role in job-intensive growth and poverty reduction. Now, the focus on small and medium enterprises could lead to employment creation, but it is also these businesses that are worst affected when municipalities do not pay on time for services rendered.
On a very basic level investors do not live in a utopia in which water and electricity are provided directly by the presidency, utility and rates bills are on time and correct, refuse is always removed and potholes are miraculously fixed. The municipalities that are supposed to provide these services should be able to do so effectively without it being considered an achievement. That is what investors expect, and it is investment that will create economic growth and the jobs SA so desperately needs.
Nothing happens quickly when it comes to government, but something drastic has to be done at municipal level, a sphere of government that is generally treated as little more than a stepping stone for those with ambitions for higher office.
If SA’s politicians continue treating local government as an inferior sphere, the political elite will have to accept that they will be seen to be working against the interests of the people they are elected to serve, because they will be placing the poor and vulnerable in peril.
There is a clear incentive for political parties to change this and heed the auditor-general’s call for accountability: the 2021 local government elections. If a dipstick of voter sentiment during the last national election is anything to go by, taxpayers are becoming increasingly impatient with politicians who seem to be able to get away with the misappropriation of funds.
The recent polls were the first national elections that ran on local issues, and political parties were punished across the country. In the Gauteng metros, which are governed by DA-led coalitions, voters confirmed that they are willing to yank parties down from their pedestals, just as they did with the ANC in the 2016 local government elections.
• Mailovich is senior political writer.
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