Statement by Stellenbosch Executive Mayor, Adv. Gesie van Deventer
25 January 2022
The Auditor General of South Africa has announced a clean audit for the municipality for the 2020/21 financial year. Stellenbosch Municipality is once again able to report credible and reliable financial and performance results. The clean audit outcome reflects that the municipality maintained a healthy financial position and that all money spent is properly accounted for. The latest audit outcomes marks the 14th consecutive year of unqualified audit outcomes in Stellenbosch.
We have instilled a culture of good governance and accountability within our organisation – unmatched when taking into consideration the audit outcomes of many similar municipalities in other parts of South Africa. “We are proud of the hard work that our councillors and officials are doing to ensure sound financial management practices at the municipality. There is a clear commitment that every cent of municipal spending must be accounted for in a transparent manner. For this, we can indeed be proud and we must continuously work to improve even further. I am immensely proud of this achievement, especially given the unusual demands of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown regulations,” said Mayor Gesie van Deventer.
Good financial planning, fiscal discipline, continuous oversight, and internal controls are key elements in ensuring sound financial management. The Mayor expressed her appreciation and thanks for the leadership of Municipal Manager, Ms Geraldine Mettler and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Mr Kevin Carolus.
Sound financial management and clean governance builds a municipality that is better equipped to deliver services to all residents. Our communities can rest assured that as a municipality, we have spent the public’s money as it should be – on the people and for the people.
There will always be room for improvement in any system, and I invite members of the public to always ensure that we uphold these excellent standards. I deeply appreciate the role the public continues to play in assisting us to run a clean, sound, stable and sustainable municipality.
