The Fetakgomo Tubatse municipality splashed R36.6m, the second-highest spend in the province, to prepare statements and help officials manage its assets.
Fetakgomo Tubatse municipal spokesperson Mahlaku Komane said the R36m figure recorded by the AG was “incorrect”. She, however, did not disclose how much the municipality paid for consultants.
“However, what the municipality can confirm is that for the 2022/2023 financial year it received an unqualified audit opinion with a few issues highlighted by the AG, that of which are currently being addressed,” she said.
Meanwhile, Collins Chabane municipality in the Vhembe district was billed R29m by consulting professionals for similar work.
All the consultants hired at the three municipalities were found to have been ineffective by the AG, despite walking away with about R100m collectively.
Collins Chabane municipal manager Risenga Shilenge said: “We are a fairly new municipality and for most of our work, we relied more on consultants since establishment. You can’t start a new municipality with adverts, where you are going to hire 200 people at a go, are you going to get quality there?
Botho Molosankwe
www.sowetanlive.co.za
