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Pretoria - The progress of municipalities and public entities towards clean audits has been slow, Deputy Auditor General Kimi Makwetu said on Tuesday.
The number of clean audits remained at five percent the past three years, he said.
Releasing the 2011/12 consolidated report on local government audit outcomes in Pretoria, Makwetu said the stagnation was a cause for concern.
"One of the key things that stands out for us in this report is that we have noticed stagnation in a number of places.
"That stagnation has come with some improvements in a number of municipalities, where even though the clean audits have remained the same, new ones have come into that space and some have gone backwards," he said.
The number of municipalities with unqualified audit outcomes -- with no findings (clean) -- in the 2011/12 report, was a low 17 out of 278.
The total number of clean audits in the 2010/11 reports was also 17.
"From the mapping we have set out (in the 2011/12 consolidated audit report), which points to the different types of audit opinions, you will find that there is a glaring absence of green. Green represents the clean audits in the report," Makwetu said.
"You will also find there is quite a number of reds and purples on the map.
"Largely, that is the picture we are having across the country, which reflects a number of reversals, some improvements and generally a stagnant picture - that is how one can capture it."
The Auditor General completed the audits of 317 (94%) of the 338 entities that submitted financial statements by August 31 last year.
Local government consisted of eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district municipalities, and 60 municipal entities.
Outgoing Auditor General Terence Nombembe lamented the lack of consequences for officials within entities with financial flaws.
"At more than 70% of the auditees, the lack of consequences for poor performance and transgressions slowed down improvement in the local government audit outcomes," Nombembe said in a statement.
"The AG has called for decisive action against political leaders and municipal officials that deliberately or negligently ignore their duties and disobey legislation.
"Such transgressors should be decisively dealt with through performance management and by enforcing the legislated consequences."
He said while 41 of the "auditees" had improved, 50 had regressed in the 2011/12 review.
The latest report showed that almost half of those attaining clean audits were municipal entities, not municipalities.
In the Free State, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, almost all the clean audits were achieved by municipal entities.
In Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape, all the clean audits were achieved by municipalities.
"Unfortunately, the metropolitan municipalities faltered in their crucial role of providing exemplary leadership to smaller municipalities, as none of the eight metros obtained a clean audit."
Nombembe said his last general report on local government audit outcomes, before his term ends in November, shows exemplary results in three municipalities - George, Langeberg and Mossel Bay, all in the Western Cape.
He commended the Johannesburg Fresh Produce Market in Gauteng, and the Durban Marine Theme Park (Pty) Limited and the International Convention Centre, both from KwaZulu-Natal, for "proving that clean administration is achievable".
