Unnecessary cost for municipalities to use external auditors: Salga
The South African Local Government Association (Salga) says municipalities must make use of their own internal accounting officers to rein in costs.
It says they are equally up to the task.
The auditor-general earlier revealed in the 2019/20 audit outcomes that R1 billion was spent on external auditors by the country's municipalities - with nothing to show for it.
Salga NEC member Bongani Baloyi says it's an unnecessary cost considering many municipalities are in dire financial straits or in debt.
"The auditor-general confirmed to us that the work these service providers were doing is actually work that can be done and should be done by internal officials whom are actually employed in those provisions but prefer to outsource the work.
"However, majority of those who engage those service providers, the financial statements of which they were prepared by these service providers made material misstatements in them which seems to suggest this money was utilised in vein and a complete waste of municipal resources, which is much needed in many other areas of service delivery."
