Auditor general of South Africa (AGSA) as an oversight body in local government sphere

The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) has a constitutional mandate as the country's Supreme Audit Institution (SAI), and it strengthens democracy by providing monitoring, accountability, and governance in the public sector through auditing, hence increasing public trust. The AGSA, througho...

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Main Authors: Xolani Thusi, Mandisi Matyana
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: UAB Sustainability for Regions 2024-06-01
Series:Insights into Regional Development
Online Access:https://jssidoi.org/ird/article/166
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author Xolani Thusi
Mandisi Matyana
author_facet Xolani Thusi
Mandisi Matyana
author_sort Xolani Thusi
collection DOAJ
description The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) has a constitutional mandate as the country's Supreme Audit Institution (SAI), and it strengthens democracy by providing monitoring, accountability, and governance in the public sector through auditing, hence increasing public trust. The AGSA, throughout the years, has been auditing municipalities throughout South Africa and giving them audit outcomes with the hope that the financial management and reporting in the local government sphere will improve. Unfortunately, the local government sphere in South Africa has worsened over the years, even though the AGSA has provided them with reports that speculate what is working and what is not working within the sphere, especially regarding the issues of using state funds. This paper examines the root causes of poor audit outcomes and proposes strategies the local government can implement to improve their audit outcomes. This paper will use a qualitative approach to review current literature and MFMA reports from 2014 to 2021 from the AGSA to meet its objectives and answer the research problem. The authors agree that AGSA has done outstanding work as an oversight and accountability enabler in the Local Government sphere and that the recent material irregularity process, which was implemented as an enforcement tool to compel municipal managers to take action, is making progress towards ensuring that AGSA fulfils its constitutional mandate as the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI).
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spelling doaj-art-7abfed5ac81c4a298bc9fffc3638d54d2025-08-20T03:06:52ZengUAB Sustainability for RegionsInsights into Regional Development2669-01952024-06-016213414510.9770/IRD.2024.6.2(9)Auditor general of South Africa (AGSA) as an oversight body in local government sphereXolani Thusihttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7316-6165Mandisi Matyanahttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-4724The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) has a constitutional mandate as the country's Supreme Audit Institution (SAI), and it strengthens democracy by providing monitoring, accountability, and governance in the public sector through auditing, hence increasing public trust. The AGSA, throughout the years, has been auditing municipalities throughout South Africa and giving them audit outcomes with the hope that the financial management and reporting in the local government sphere will improve. Unfortunately, the local government sphere in South Africa has worsened over the years, even though the AGSA has provided them with reports that speculate what is working and what is not working within the sphere, especially regarding the issues of using state funds. This paper examines the root causes of poor audit outcomes and proposes strategies the local government can implement to improve their audit outcomes. This paper will use a qualitative approach to review current literature and MFMA reports from 2014 to 2021 from the AGSA to meet its objectives and answer the research problem. The authors agree that AGSA has done outstanding work as an oversight and accountability enabler in the Local Government sphere and that the recent material irregularity process, which was implemented as an enforcement tool to compel municipal managers to take action, is making progress towards ensuring that AGSA fulfils its constitutional mandate as the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI).https://jssidoi.org/ird/article/166
spellingShingle Xolani Thusi
Mandisi Matyana
Auditor general of South Africa (AGSA) as an oversight body in local government sphere
Insights into Regional Development
title Auditor general of South Africa (AGSA) as an oversight body in local government sphere
title_full Auditor general of South Africa (AGSA) as an oversight body in local government sphere
title_fullStr Auditor general of South Africa (AGSA) as an oversight body in local government sphere
title_full_unstemmed Auditor general of South Africa (AGSA) as an oversight body in local government sphere
title_short Auditor general of South Africa (AGSA) as an oversight body in local government sphere
title_sort auditor general of south africa agsa as an oversight body in local government sphere
url https://jssidoi.org/ird/article/166
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