Chairperson, following the reality of so many previous declarations and initiatives to get local government working, any reasonable observer would view the Minister's latest statement with serious scepticism. It is not only too little too late, but just another attempt to shift the goalposts further down the line to, in fact, just beyond the 2011 municipal elections.
Once again, the ANC government is trying to hoodwink voters into believing that all will be right if they just wait for another five years. Yet, history has now overtaken the ruling party's transparent strategic interventions that lead nowhere.
People are not only disillusioned and angry about poor service delivery, but also about the blatant looting of resources by deployed cadres, who enrich themselves through exorbitant salaries, generously supplemented with so-called performance bonuses; often rewarding incompetence, rather than excellence, not to mention the epidemic levels of nepotism and associated procurement manipulation.
The Auditor-General's report on the Municipal Finance Management Act, MFMA, outcomes for the 2007-08 financial year indicates that 67% of metros and 56% of related municipalities did not comply with applicable legislation.
Material mistakes in financial reporting were uncovered by the Auditor- General in 100% of the metros and 75% of related municipal entities, due to errors, omissions and inconsistencies. Such errors should have been detected by the metros and municipalities, but they failed to do so, because they failed to implement and maintain due internal audit processes, as prescribed by law. Thank you very much. [Time expired.] [Applause.]