In the 2015/2016 financial year, KZN municipalities’ irregular expenditure levels increased from R1.60 billion in the previous year to R2.43bn.
eThekwini contributed 51% (1.24bn) to the total irregular expenditure. The other four municipalities were uThukela District, uMkhanyakude District, uMzinyathi District, and Msunduzi municipality.
The AG’s report said: “The main cause of this irregular expenditure was deviations that were either not approved or not justifiable.”
Nationally irregular expenditure had increased by just over 50% from the previous year to R16.81bn.
“The amount could be even higher, as a third of the municipalities disclosed that the full amount was not known and 24% were qualified as the amount they disclosed was incomplete,” the AG said.
The eThekwini municipality had regressed from a clean audit in 2014/2015 to an unqualified audit with findings in the year under review. The AG found that the municipality’s procurement monitoring controls were “not sufficient to prevent repeat instances of irregular expenditure”.