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The DA is concerned over the poor state of Free State municipalities following the release of the Auditor General's 2021/22 Consolidated MFMA report. 

According to the AG, not a single municipality in the province has been able to achieve a clean audit for the past six years. This is a stark contrast to the DA-run Western Cape, which boasts 21 out of the 38 clean audits in the country. 

By the date of publication, eight audits were still outstanding due to late or no submission, with the financial statements of three municipalities not being submitted at all. This makes the Free State one of only two provinces to have statements not submitted. This is especially concerning given that Free State municipalities are consistently some of the poorest-performing municipalities in the country in terms of audit outcomes. 

The AG also gave a list of eleven Free State municipalities which have been in a concerning financial position for at least five consecutive years, including the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality. The AG indicated that Mangaung is unlikely to improve, despite being under national intervention. The Municipality achieved only 13% of its planned targets related to service delivery and zero related to water and sanitation. It is also the metro with the highest underspending in the country. 

Maluti-A-Phofung and Masilonyana are the only municipalities in the country with their 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial statements still outstanding. Kopanong is one of two municipalities that still has its 2021/22 financial statements still outstanding. 

Municipalities are the so-called bread and butter of government and are the first line of contact for most residents. Many people depend solely on municipalities to provide them with basic services such as electricity, clean drinking water, and sewage and refuse removal. 

Functional municipalities and a strong economy go hand in hand but the ANC has plundered Free State municipalities to the brink of collapse, leaving local businesses and residents to pay the impossibly high price. 

The DA will continue to work with civil society and private organisations to deliver basic services in spite of the ANC. In 2024, residents must vote for a DA-run Free State to help turn municipalities in the province around before it’s too late.

Issued by David van Vuuren - DA Spokesperson on Finance in the Free State Legislature