By Emily Setona
QWAQWA — The Maluti-a-Phofung (MAP) local municipality has hailed the completion of its 2024/25 Annual Financial Statements — compiled in-house for the first time in years — as proof of strengthening financial management and reduced dependence on consultants.
Executive mayor Malekula Melato praised staff for “working day and night” to meet the submission deadline.
“We must appreciate the work done by our own staff who hardly ever get recognition. This shows our future is in good hands,” she said.
MAP communications manager Thabo Kessah said preparing the AFS internally signals growing institutional capacity and improved financial systems.
“This achievement reflects the developing capability within the municipality,” he said.
But the self-congratulation comes as MAP faces intensifying scrutiny over its financial governance. In the last two council sittings, the municipality wrote off R4.6 billion in unauthorised expenditure accumulated over more than a decade — much of it linked to incorrect budgeting or improper processing in its financial system.
The Democratic Alliance has slammed the long-running failures. DA councillor Alison Oates said the billions written off, while not necessarily stolen, show deep weaknesses in budgeting and accounting.
“Residents are left uncertain about how public funds are being managed,” she said. Oates added that MAP’s long-inactive Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) must now tackle the R617 million in unauthorised expenditure flagged for the current financial year.
As the municipality awaits the Auditor-General’s report early next year, both residents and oversight bodies will be watching whether internal progress leads to real accountability — or whether historic financial mismanagement continues to haunt MAP.
