Executive Mayor of Stellenbosch Municipality, Gesie van Deventer, this week proudly announced the 14th consecutive unqualified clean audit report for the municipality saying she is proud of the hard work councillors and officials are doing.
In a statement issued earlier this week she said the Auditor General of South Africa had announced a clean audit for the municipality for the 2020-’21 financial year, and Stellenbosch Municipality was once again able to report credible and reliable financial and performance results.
“The clean-audit outcome reflects that the municipality maintained a healthy financial position and that all money spent is properly accounted for. We have instilled a culture of good governance and accountability within our organisation – unmatched when taking into consideration the audit outcomes of many similar municipalities in other parts of SA.”
The audit report prompted mix reactions from opposition parties.
“On behalf of the ACDP we would like to congratulate the Executive Mayor Gesie van Deventer and the Stellenbosch municipal officials on this achievement,” said Councillor Otniel Jooste of the ACDP.
He added the ACDP is committed to the sustained financial stability of the municipality and will keep the current administration accountable in the new financial year. “We are unwavering in our commitment to be responsible custodians of ratepayers’ contributions, with the focus on service delivery to the greater Stellenbosch community,” Jooste added.
The ANC in a statement said it celebrated the clean audit as far as the administration is concerned. “However, we are far from realising the goodness for the masses, and as the ANC we remain resolute on our views and expressions.” Chief Whip Monwabisi Rataza said the issue around a clean audit is when people’s livelihoods are sacrificed at the expense of looking good at Treasury and striking the right balance needs to consider the people’s matters as the main priority.
“The poor of the poorest are yet to be attended too,” Rataza said, “and this means that whenever good has been illustrated we need also to translate that to the masses of our people, and if they are suffering while unqualified audits are celebrated we the ANC will not hesitate to call out bad representation of the working class. We remain a pillar and beacon of the disadvantaged majority in Stellenbosch and will also strive for equality.
“The DA should at least try and give response to the masses of Stellenbosch and try to be a catalyst to the majority, who suffer from tender processes and work relations. The DA and its council collective remain in the dark ages in relation to progress of this country.”
Said Van Deventer: “We are proud of the hard work our councillors and officials are doing to ensure sound financial management practices at the municipality. There is a clear commitment that every cent of municipal spending must be accounted for in a transparent manner. For this we can indeed be proud, and we must continuously work to improve even further. I am immensely proud of this achievement, especially given the unusual demands of the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown regulations.”
She says good financial planning, fiscal discipline, continuous oversight, and internal controls are key elements in ensuring sound financial management. The Mayor expressed her appreciation and thanks for the leadership of Municipal Manager Geraldine Mettler and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Kevin Carolus.
“Sound financial management and clean governance builds a municipality that is better equipped to deliver services to all residents. Our communities can rest assured that as a municipality we have spent the public’s money as it should be – on the people and for the people.”
There will always be room for improvement in any system, and I invite members of the public to always ensure that we uphold these excellent standards. I deeply appreciate the role the public continues to play in assisting us to run a clean, sound, stable and sustainable municipality.
