Hlabisa: Staff at worst-performing municipalities need upskilling
Cooperative Governance Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa says there is an urgent need to upskill staff employed by the country’s worst-performing municipalities.
This follows a critical Auditor-General report revealing R24 billion in unauthorised spending and widespread mismanagement.
The 2022/2023 audit outcomes revealed regression in the management of municipal finances, with over R7 billion in fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
The report also highlighted severe neglect of infrastructure, resulting in water and electricity losses.
Addressing the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) in Cape Town on Wednesday, Hlabisa said it’s impossible to improve the state of municipalities without competent management.
READ: AG: Only 34 of SA municipalities got clean audit
He said the department would ensure that distressed municipalities spend their entire budget so that the money would not have to be returned to the Treasury.
Hlablisa says there's also a need to rework grant allocations for disasters in all municipalities.
"We want to zone in on these municipalities; who are the MMs [municipal managers], and what qualifications do they own? Who are the CEOs, director of technical services, and director of corporate services? These are key sections of the municipality’s performance.
"Do they have suitable qualifications? Because whatever turn-around plan we come up with, if people on the ground do not have sufficient competency, it will not work."
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