Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke tabled the local government audit outcomes report for the 2024–2025 financial year in Parliament on 24 June 2026, revealing that only 39 municipalities—representing just 15 percent of the total—attained clean audits. The report further indicates that 61 percent of municipalities received unqualified audit opinions, while 38 municipalities, accounting for 24 percent of the national local government expenditure budget, have regressed in performance since the 2020–2021 financial year.
Governance And Service Delivery Concerns
The latest findings represent a critical juncture for municipal oversight, with the audit noting that not a single metropolitan municipality achieved a clean audit status for the 2024–2025 period. Addressing the lack of progress, Auditor-General Maluleke stated during the parliamentary briefing that mayors and councils have made limited efforts to strengthen governance, leaving residents and businesses to contend with deteriorating infrastructure and unreliable service delivery.
Over the past four years, mayors and councils of the 6th administration have made limited progress to strengthen governance and improve service delivery, as residents and businesses continue to experience unreliable service delivery, environmental hazards and deteriorating infrastructure.
While reports highlight a 98 percent success rate in the timely submission of financial statements, the impact on public life remains severe. Julius Kleynhans, Executive Manager at the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), remarked that despite rising costs for rates and services, many communities continue to face sewage spills, water losses, and recurring electricity outages.
Positive Indicators Amidst Systemic Failure
Despite the broader decline in governance, the Auditor-General noted a decrease in the number of municipalities receiving repeat disclaimed audit opinions, describing this as one of the few positive developments in the current cycle. These disclaimed opinions, which reflect a complete failure to provide sufficient evidence for financial statements, have dropped to levels not seen in several years.
As the government faces pressure to address these findings, the next phase of accountability will likely involve increased oversight from provincial legislatures and national treasury intervention in poorly performing districts. The persistent gap between financial reporting compliance and the physical standard of service delivery is expected to remain a central theme in forthcoming parliamentary Portfolio Committee meetings.