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The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes with concern the Auditor-General’s 2019/2020 municipal audit report which revealed that the ANC-run Beaufort West Municipality is the only municipality in the Western Cape to receive an audit report with disclaimed opinions.

A disclaimed opinion means the following:
The auditee provided insufficient evidence in the form of documentation on which to base an audit opinion. The lack of sufficient evidence is not confined to specific amounts or represents a substantial portion of the information contained in the financial statements.

The ANC and KDF have been in a coalition since the beginning of the 2018/19 financial year, and they have since been unable to address major challenges our municipality is facing.

The Beaufort West Municipality has an outstanding Eskom bill of nearly R40 million and an overdraft of nearly R15 million. The municipality is technically bankrupt and one of the 22 most corrupt municipalities in South Africa. It is, therefore, no surprise that the ANC/KDF-coalition is unable to provide sufficient documentation to the auditor-general – they have too much to hide!

It is also now clear why the previous mayor, Noel Constable, resigned as mayor – he was not able to account for his mismanagement of the municipality.

The DA will write to and call upon the Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Anton Bredell, and COGTA to intervene as a matter of urgency and to place the Beaufort West Municipality under administration.

Issued by The DA