The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Local Government has initiated 26 forensic investigations into complaints of maladministration against various municipalities, with some of the complaints stemming as far back as November 2004.
Speaking at the Democracy Development Programme's third annual Local Government Conference in Durban on Monday, Local Government MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu said the forensic investigations had been aimed at promoting good governance and had, in many cases, yielded the desired results.
"In many instances, where we found wrongdoing we have taken relevant action against individuals implicated," he said.
The electronic monitoring management system had, he said, allowed municipalities to monitor and detect trends in the management of budgets.
Mabuyakhulu said that for the first time, KZN had the highest percentage of municipalities that had submitted their financial statements on time.
Only one municipality had missed its deadline and, in that case, the relevant local government office had stepped in to help the municipality.
Mabuyakhulu said that the new challenge to his department was the quality of the audit statements which had been submitted, where there was room for improvement.
He said political corruption was the most difficult element of bad governance and was also the most prevalent.
"Political corruption affects us all," he said.
"We elect politicians and political parties, expecting them to act in the public interest. By electing them we give them access to public resources and (the) power to take decisions that impact on our lives.
"Given their privileged position, immense damage can be inflicted by politicians, or parties, acting out of greed, or in the service of those who bankroll their ascent to power," Mabuyakhulu said.
Institute for Democracy in South Africa researcher Steven Friedman, who spoke on ethics and integrity, warned that lavish expenditure by senior political figures, even if it was done within legal boundaries, would send the wrong message to those who could not afford such lifestyles.
He said an impression was created that "the higher up, the more entitled you are to a certain standard of life".
Friedman said that lavish lifestyles were popular in South African society and there was a sense among some who had been involved in the struggle for democracy that it was okay to attain wealth as long as nothing illegal was done.
This created a problem because it created temptation and invited people to find other measures to attain wealth.
Friedman said there was a need to strengthen the wall between "public money and private life" because that barrier was not very strong.