CAPE TOWN – The Auditor General (AG) says Treasury’s Eskom Municipal Debt Relief Support Programme has been a failure.
Delivering the 2023-24 local government audit outcomes to Parliament on Wednesday, Tsakani Maluleke listed unfunded budgets, mismanaged indigent programmes and failed infrastructure projects as among the many problems plaguing municipalities.
But overall, Maluleke said a lack of accountability, especially politically, means the problems are likely to persist.
Maluleke said 113 municipalities are currently operating on unfunded budgets.
At least 80% of this number are doing it for the third consecutive year.
“So, what happens, you end up with a deficit, and an overdraft situation, you don’t pay your…
