To understand how Ndlambe Municipality is performing, you can consult the Auditor-General’s annual report on local government performance. Their report provides an independent assessment of the municipality’s effectiveness.

The Ndlambe specific report is available here: link.

Ndlambe’s overall audit results have been consistently poor, with little progress towards achieving clean audits.

The identified root causes of the poor audit outcome for 2022-23 are:

• Slow response by management
• Slow response by oversight
• Inadequate consequences

This a polite way of saying that the continued poor outcomes result from a lack of management and oversight from the Ndlambe mayor and council, coupled with a culture of not holding Ndlambe municipal staff to account for waste, fraud, and abuse.

How well is Ndlambe managing performance?

In four of the last 5 years the town’s Performance report has been graded as Poor.

How well is Ndlambe managing spending?

The chart below shows how ineffectively efforts to control irregular and unauthorized spending are proceeding.

How well is Ndlambe managing its financial health?

The key Performance Indicators are concerning:

Unrecoverable Debt: A significant 78% of municipal debt is unlikely to be repaid.

Overspending: More than 10% of next year’s budget has already been used in previous years.

Slow Payments: The municipality takes an average of 34 days to pay its creditors, exceeding the recommended limit of 30 days.

How well is Ndlambe managing its infrastructure?

Ndlambe Municipality is facing significant challenges in maintaining its infrastructure. The municipality reported spending just R21.7 million on repairs and maintenance, which is only 2.8% of the total value of its infrastructure assets. This falls far short of the National Treasury’s recommended minimum of 8%.

Additionally, the municipality is losing a substantial amount of water. Annual reports indicate that 45.3% of all water flowing through municipal pipelines is lost due to leaks and other issues. This is well above the National Treasury’s acceptable range of 15-30%.”

How well is Ndlambe managing its operational and financial controls?

All operational and financial controls evaluated were deemed to be concerning. This includes:

• Operational Controls: Ensure that daily and monthly operations are carried out efficiently and effectively.
• In-Year Reporting: Provide regular updates on performance throughout the year.
• Year-End Reporting: Prepare comprehensive year-end reports summarizing the year’s activities.
• Record Keeping: Maintain accurate and detailed records of all transactions.
• Compliance Review: Regularly assess compliance with relevant laws, regulations, and policies.