Gallery
GEORGE NEWS - George Municipality recently made history when the municipal public accounts committee meeting on the consideration and evaluation of the 2016/2017 annual report was opened up to ward committee members.
The purpose of the meeting on Thursday 1 March was to afford councillors and most importantly the ward committees a reasonable opportunity to fully digest and discuss the annual report contents.
Click here for a photo gallery.
Senior manager of IDP, PMS and Public Participation Dr Sandile Ngqele said the municipality is on the right track with these engagements, though there is room for improvement.
He said more time will be spent on enabling ward committee members to meaningfully participate in municipal processes.
On 31 January, the George municipal council resolved that the annual report for the 2016/2017 financial year must be referred to the municipal public accounts committee for further consideration and evaluation, as prescribed by Section 127(5) of the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), No. 56 of 2003.
The annual report is prepared in accordance with Section 121 of the MFMA, which prescribes that every municipality must prepare an annual report for each financial year.
The purpose of this report is to provide a record of the activities of the municipality or entity; to provide a report on performance in service delivery and budget implementation; to promote accountability to the local community and other stakeholders; and to reduce the additional reporting requirements that will otherwise arise from government departments, monitoring agencies and financial institutions.
The MFMA emphasises the need for transparency and accountability for the fiscal and financial affairs of municipalities through in-year and annual reporting.
These aims can only be achieved where there is a clear link between the strategic objectives agreed with the community through the Integrated Development Plan (IDP), the budget, the Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plan (SDBIP), performance agreements of senior management and officials, in-year reports covering financial and non-financial information.
Jacoba Leonard (left) and Delina Jafta, both from Ward 8.
The primary functions of the municipal public accounts committee include the consideration and evaluation of the annual report and the preparation of a draft oversight report to be submitted to the council for purposes of adopting the oversight report.
The annual report has been available on the municipal website at all municipal libraries and area offices since 8 February, and public comments on the annual report were received until 10 March.
'We bring you the latest George, Garden Route news'
