Picture: North West MEC for Treasury, Kenetswe Mosenogi
By REGINALD KANYANE
29 July 2026 – North West MEC for Finance, Kenetswe Mosenogi has called on municipalities across the province to take urgent and decisive action to strengthen financial governance, improve accountability and restore public confidence in local government. Addressing the Municipal Intergovernmental Forum (MuniMEC) held at the Royal
Marang Hotel in Phokeng Township, near Rustenburg, Mosenogi said municipalities have entered a critical phase of the municipal financial year, where preparations for Annual Financial Statements (AFS) and the implementation of post-audit action plans must receive priority attention.
She emphasised that audit readiness should not be treated as a year-end compliance exercise, but rather as a continuous process supported by sound financial controls, credible record management and effective governance throughout the financial year. Mosenogi further said the audit outcomes they achieve this year will be determined by the extent to which municipalities implement corrective measures arising from previous audit findings.
“We cannot expect improved outcomes, if we continue to repeat the shortcomings of the past. The current municipal administration has a responsibility to hand over municipalities that are financially stronger and institutionally more resilient to the incoming councils following the 2026 Local Government Elections (LGEs).
“Our assessment of the 2026/27 municipal budgets shows encouraging progress, with 11 municipalities adopting funded budgets compared to ten during the budget tabling stage. However, several municipalities continue to operate with unfunded budgets or have failed to submit credible budgets for assessment, highlighting that financial recovery remains uneven across the province,” she added.
Mosenogi also addressed the withholding of equitable share allocations, stressing that the measure should not be viewed as punitive, but as a constitutional mechanism aimed at protecting public resources and restoring sound financial governance, where municipalities persistently fail to comply with financial management legislation. She noted that during the previous financial year, 13 municipalities had portions of their equitable share withheld, prompting interventions by the North West Provincial Treasury and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) to support municipalities in meeting critical financial obligations.
“I would like to express concern over the continued escalation of unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure (UIFW&E), which has reached R72.1 billion across the province. The persistent increase in irregular expenditure, coupled with weak consequence management, continues to undermine financial sustainability and public confidence in local government,” said Mosenogi.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) Provincial Leader and Member of Provincial Legislature (MPL) in the North West Provincial Legislature (NWPL), Freddy Sonakile said: “North West’s municipalities are in financial ICU. The National Treasury acts after repeated failures to comply with financial legislation.
More than half of the province’s municipalities have failed residents through poor governance.
“Your vote in 2026 can put North West back on the road to recovery. The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes National Treasury’s decisive action to temporarily withhold July 2026 equitable share transfers from municipalities that have persistently failed to comply with the law.”
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