Holding politicians to account,protecting human rights our duty

Nkosikhulule Nyembezi

How far and how fast our country can attain acceptable levels of leadership competence at the municipal level to discharge the constitutional mandate of local government is unclear as the unusually high number of by-elections since 2022 (the latest were held on August 28 across several provinces) speak volumes about the high turnover of elected and appointed officials responsible for constantly producing the undesirable audit results and our inability as citizens to hold them accountable.

“Service delivery improvements and the responsible use of the limited funds available will only be enabled when municipalities are capable, co-operative, accountable and responsive, and when they deliver on their mandates,” said Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke when she released the 2022-23 consolidated general report on local government audit outcomes on August 27, reflecting that no meaningful improvement occurred in the municipal handling of public finances over the first two years of the current term.

Maluleke’s report correctly states that “municipal leadership, councils and mayors play a critical role in setting the tone for ethical behaviour, good governance and accountability; and in creating a culture that fosters trust and confidence in local government”.

We are currently experiencing a moment of profound human suffering nationwide when incompetence, maladministration, and corruption result in the government falling behind in the fight against poverty, inequality, and unemployment.

While 45 municipalities have improved their audit outcomes since 2020-21, 36 have reportedly “regressed”.

It is the various local governments’ inability to comply with legislation when conducting their operations that remains the biggest obstacle.

Amid this landscape, there are telling signs that Maluleke’s report is more revealing about politics than about financial administration. If political parties in the governments of national and provincial unity allow the situation to continue in this vein and abuse their access to public funds, the people will continue to suffer in many ways that can be reflected in negative audits. That is the definition of political instability we know about and its direct impact of weakening government institutions and, according to the report, “weak institutions will always struggle to protect public resources”.

We cannot be anaesthetised to this level of anguish halfway through the last municipal elections. Those of us in better-performing municipalities must always remember that those we see suffering because of incompetence and corruption are the same as us.

We should approach their plight with the same sense of urgency and compassion that we would if it were our plight.

How can anyone be proud that 75% of metros were unable to produce reliable service delivery, yet the electorate trusted them with a mandate to implement checks and balances to prevent the abuse of power by a dominant party after the November 2021 election outcome that produced over 81 hung municipalities?

That is not what the dictionary says about the Batho Pele (people first) principles and the role of government in making human rights real. The current debacle, however, over the hesitation of several political parties to take action against incompetent and corrupt politicians and officials who continuously undermine financial legislation and regulations suggests they want a fight with the people.

It is in times like these, when the vulnerable feel that they may have been forgotten, that we must demand accountability more than ever. Not accountability in abstract terms, not accountability as theory, but accountability capable of providing tangible protection to those who need it most.

We need to see that holding politicians accountable and protecting human rights have a real impact on our lives.

Accountability should be tangible to those in the country’s 39 intermediate cities, accounting for a budget of R115.9 billion, that received four clean audits and one disclaimer, in the 44 district municipalities with a budget of R37.7bn that received 11 clean audits and one disclaimer as it should for those in the 166 local municipalities, boasting a budget of R88.1bn, that received 18 clean audits and 10 disclaimers.

Accountability is something we should all be able to cling to, to shelter us from the worst elements of incompetence and corruption, as is the case for people living in most of the country’s eight metros which account for a combined budget of R279.8bn.

How can we be content that only the Cape Town metro received a clean audit, while Ekurhuleni – which had received a clean audit in the previous financial year – moved to the unqualified with findings basket, joining the metros of Johannesburg, eThekwini, and Nelson Mandela Bay?

What accountability will politicians take now that the Tshwane, Mangaung and Buffalo City metros received qualified audit opinions, with the former registering an improvement from its previous adverse audit finding? What enhancing measures will be implemented in the 18 municipalities, mostly in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and North West, that have moved out of the disclaimed audit opinions category? What remedial steps will be implemented in the 14 municipalities that received disclaimed opinions?

There is still time for a change of heart. A voter backlash at the inaction of politicians has reportedly sparked a political party split in several municipalities across the country as by-election results show a rejection of corrupt and incompetent politicians who opportunistically switch parties to cling to power.

Maluleke highlighted that of the 34 municipalities with clean audits, 30 were repeat clean auditees.

“What that tells us is that these auditees, 30 that have got clean audits, had established the key disciplines, the key preventative controls, to prevent problems, to detect them quickly, and to act swiftly if they should identify them.”

But without a sense of hope and progress, all these parties responsible for inefficiencies will court unpopularity and probably resort to using divisive radical rhetoric to garner votes while escaping accountability.

All municipal councils would do their best to remember this, encouraged by Maluleke’s words that in municipalities with clean audits, it does not mean things are perfect in those environments.

Still, it does mean the basics are in place. This is not just a battle over words and numbers. It is a fight over what this unity government is for. On the upside, there were fewer municipalities with disclaimed audit opinions, which is the worst possible audit outcome.

We should never think things cannot get worse. As we see epicentres of corruption expand nationwide, this is a moment when we must cling to accountability standards that represent the heritage of all municipalities and people. It is our collective duty to do so.

* Nyembezi is a policy analyst, researcher and human rights activist

Cape Times