Speaking during a high-level dialogue in Midrand, north of Johannesburg, Maluleke said the original White Paper on Local Government envisioned an interdependent system where national, provincial and local governments work in tandem. The event formed part of a review of the policy document, which has guided local governance since its adoption in 1998.

Maluleke stressed that fostering a clearer understanding among public officials of how financial and performance reports relate to service delivery is essential, particularly for political leaders.

“We’ve been seized with trying to make sure that people who run government have a better appreciation of how things are going,” she said. “They can link the debits and credits, performance reports, and compliance issues to service delivery, things that are important to you, especially as political parties.”

She noted progress in efforts to change attitudes towards accountability and audit outcomes.

“We have worked extremely hard to create that link so that we can no longer have anybody credibly tell us that it’s okay to have a disclaimer because our people don’t need clean audits. People used to say that. I don’t hear it anymore. And it tells me that we are winning,” she added.

The dialogue comes as government reviews the White Paper to address persistent governance and service delivery challenges in municipalities across the country.

--ChannelAfrica--