The North West Provincial Legislature’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) has commended the province’s 22 municipalities for successfully meeting the 31 August statutory deadline to submit their 2025/26 Annual Financial Statements (AFS) to the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA).
During the ceremonial handover of the AFS, Auditor-General officials and Finance MEC Kenetswe Mosenogi described the submissions as an important foundation for accountability to the people of North West.
Speaking on YOU FM’s Newshour, SCOPA Chairperson Motlalepula Rosho said the AFS provides a formal account of each municipality’s financial position and performance for the financial year ended 30 June 2026.
“I can confirm that all the municipalities reached the 31 August deadline to submit their statements. I can attest to that because I was invited as SCOPA Chairperson, together with the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on the Premier and Finance.
“We haven’t received any report of any municipality having difficulties submitting their statements, and they were all present to submit them in person,” said Rosho.
Meanwhile, Rosho expressed confidence in the provincial government’s interventions at municipalities.
“We are hopeful because we are beginning to see an impact that the Provincial Executive Representatives (PERs) are making at our municipalities.
“You would remember that the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the Provincial Treasury deployed teams of officials and PERs to nine troubled municipalities under mandatory intervention in 2026, and I can tell you now that a lot of progress has been made,” added the chairperson.
Rosho, who was appointed last month, led the committee’s first public hearing under the Municipal Finance Management Act involving Madibeng Local Municipality, which was called to account for its 2024/25 financial year audit outcomes.
These included the implementation of the post-audit action plan, as well as unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
“The committee is satisfied with the submission of Madibeng Local Municipality, particularly because all the division managers were there, which is a good sign of their intention to change the financial trajectory of the municipality.
“What was also encouraging is that the Executive Mayor, including the PER to the municipality, were also there.
“What remains is for the municipality to begin implementing all the guidelines shared with them on how to improve the spending of public funds,” explained Rosho.
Furthermore, she said the committee welcomed the municipality’s explanations regarding its operations.
“We are happy as the committee because there was an explanation around the employment of multiple security companies by the municipality, but what remains is for the internal controls to be strengthened to avoid a recurrence of previous mistakes.
“What we are also happy about is the centralisation of the procurement processes in the Chief Financial Officer’s office. That will certainly bring certainty to the finances of the municipality,” remarked Rosho.
Madibeng has been in the news for, among other reasons, struggling to pay bulk suppliers such as Rand Water and owing tens of millions of rand to neighbouring municipalities, including the City of Tshwane, for electricity and other services. This has led to intermittent power disconnections.
