A clean audit for the 2022-’23 year cements good governance and fans the flame of economic growth for the Mother City.
Announcing the audit result last week, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis described a clean audit as being the very basis for better service delivery, and was not only only a symbolic recognition.
“Spending public money on its intended purpose, with careful record keeping and legal compliance, is the very foundation of service delivery and the bedrock of efforts ultimately to lift more people out of poverty and into work,” he stated to the media.
Good governance
Good governance, he said, is the bedrock of economic investment.
“Cape Town attracted more than R3,5 billion in property investment in 2022-’23, adding to our revenue base and sustainability.
“Good governance underpinned our ability to spend a record R6,94 billion on infrastructure in 2022-’23, surpassing even the FIFA World Cup investment, with our planned spending set to dwarf all other metros.
“And good governance enabled us to settle 99,5% of supplier invoices within 30 days, ensuring consistent cash flow especially for small businesses.”
Mayco member for finance Siseko Mbandezi attributed the favourable audit to the concerted efforts of City officials.
“Thank you, Team Cape Town, for ensuring this record budget was spent lawfully, with every public rand going towards service delivery,” he said.
The City’s annual report highlighted delivery achievements in the financial year.
More than 205 000 jobs were added in Cape Town last year, and sewer pipe replacement doubled from 25 to 50 km annually, with progress on major wastewater and bulk sewer upgrades.
In total 209 km of road was rehabilitated, resurfaced or resealed. Access to piped water increased to 99,1% from 95,7%, and access to adequate sanitation increased to 96,2% from 92,4%. Overall, 5 200 toilets and 729 taps were installed in 2022-’23.
Likewise, access to electricity increased to 94,9% from 91,7%, with 2 440 new connections far exceeding the 1 500 target, while the City managed to reduce load-shedding levels by 14%, with the goal of preventing the first four stages of Eskom load shedding by 2025-’26.
