Corruption within South African municipalities
Corruption in South African municipalities is a serious threat.
Municipal Managers are appointed for their administrative skills and should not have a political agenda. The Municipal Manager (MM) has a fundamental role and is often the scapegoat for poor political decisions. They stand as the bastion against a corrupt and bankrupt public entity.
When politics gets involved
Within any municipality there is a political office with the mayor as the head and a municipal office with the MM as the head. According to the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) the MM is appointed as the Chief Accounting Officer over the municipality and is therefore responsible for all expenditure incurred in the municipality.
Suplly Chain Management
Sometimes political appointments are made within the municipal office and this can make the life of the MM very difficult. Even though the person should be reporting to the MM they can have a different agenda. This is of particular concern when the appointment is made within the Supply Chain Management (SCM) department as this is where the majority of the spend occurs and is the main area of risk as regards collusion and fraud.
Fraud and responsibility
Corruption in South African municipalities needs to be stopped.
If there is any fraud or irregular and wasteful expenditure then with the MM – “The buck stops here.”
It is our responsibility to ensure that the buck is well spent.
If you ever require internal audit, forensics or risk assessments performed then please email Lighthouse Consultants.com
