Scopa demands clarity on municipal budgets

THE Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) in KwaZulu-Natal is demanding answers on how municipalities are spending their budgets following concerns that the spending does not align with service delivery.

- THAMI MAGUBANE

The spending habits of some municipalities were flagged recently by the Office of the Auditor-General of SA (AGSA) during its meeting with Scopa in the KZN legislature.

The AGSA revealed that some municipalities are spending their way into ruin, indicating that some of them often allocate a portion of next year's budget in the current financial year. Members of the committee stated they are waiting to receive a proper breakdown from the AGSA on how these municipalities are spending their budgets before addressing the matter with the municipalities.

Nomalungelo Mkhize of the AGSA office in KZN said, "It is important that there is useful, reliable reporting and performance planning for municipalities because it shows that one knows where they are insofar as service delivery is concerned and what needs to be done going forward"

She noted that the AGSA found that in most municipalities, not all performance targets were met despite most of the budget being spent.