The improved audit results that were achieved by the Mossel Bay, Langeberg and George municipalities in the Western Cape are the result of leadership commitment. It shows without a doubt that clean administration is possible when there is leadership commitment towards clean administration.
This was said by the Auditor-General, Mr Terence Nombembe, when he announced his findings on 13 August 2013 on the audit of local government for the 201/2102 financial year.
Mossel Bay is one of nine out of 278 municipalities in South Africa which achieved a clean audit in the 2011/2012 financial year.
In her reaction to the Auditor-General’s report, the Executive Mayor, Alderlady Marie Ferreira, said it is not always realised what it entails to get a clean audit.
“It is a very strict audit, which is much more than just an audit of the financial affairs of a municipality. It includes, for example, the municipality’s tender processes, performance management systems and legal compliance in the finest detail.
“It can only be achieved through hard work and consistent commitment and I would therefore like to thank our capable management team under the leadership of Dr Michele Gratz, as well as our Councillors.
“Mossel Bay has proved itself over and again as one of the best managed municipalities in the country in several respects. The Municipality really has excellent personnel, and we regularly receive compliments on the tidiness of the town as well as the good condition of its infrastructure,” she said.
She said the clean audit and the many other achievements over the past number of years do not rhyme with the negative picture a small group of individuals have been trying to paint of Council and the municipal management in the media in recent times.