December 9, 2004
By Thomas Thale
THE City of Johannesburg has posted a net operating surplus of R337-million for the 2003/4 financial-year, a marked increase from the deficit of R273-million the year before.
Capital expenditure for the year under review stood at R1.3-billion, although the debtors' book has now risen to R7.1-billion.
The audited financial results for the year ended June 2004 have been perused by Shauket Fakie, the Auditor General, and were tabled before Council on Wednesday afternoon.
Unveiling the results to the media, City Manager, Pascal Moloi, expressed satisfaction with the performance of the Municipality and its entities. "I'm satisfied that we have a good bottom line. This is an indication of good service delivery," he said.
Moloi expressed satisfaction that the City managed to close its books within three months, a major improvement on the 16 months it took to finalise the books in 2001.
For the first time, the City presented statements which comply with the Generally Accepted Municipal Accounting Practices (GAMAP) as required by the Municipal Systems Act. "This is the first time that we have presented a consolidated group financial statement," added Moloi.
In his report, the Auditor General gave nine of the 16 Council-owned Utilities, Agencies and Corporatised entities (UACs) clean audit reports, up from the six good performers from last financial year. But three entities - Joburg Water, City Power and the core administration - were given disclaimers, while Metrobus, Johannesburg Tourism Company and Pikitup received qualified audit reports.
As expected, the AG once again gave the City a disclaimer, citing its incomplete asset register, inability to confirm the completeness of the City's revenue, the need to separate the RSC levy from interest and a lack of proper documentation of leave forms. The AG also noted a discrepancy between the City's billing system and the Municipal Valuation Roll.
Despite the disclaimer, Moloi expressed confidence that Joburg had experienced a turnaround in its management of finances and was making good progress towards obtaining a clean audit report. Moloi was particularly pleased that the areas of disclaimer were down to only four, compared to 24 in the last financial year.
He emphasised the City had observed prudent financial management, resulting in its credit rating being upgraded to A-. This he attributed to a "high level of disclosure and transparency" in the City.
According to Moloi, the City generated R66-million by selling its non-strategic property, earned interest amounting to R139-million, raised R78-million from traffic fines, received R181-million in Government subsidies, R20-million in RSC levies and R44-million in rental.
But Johannesburg Tourism Company, Pikitup and Joburg Water recorded deficits of R62-million, R50-million and R118-million respectively, which Moloi said was much less than expected.
Parks Tau, Councillor responsible for Finance and Economics, said the City was making good progress in its efforts to compile a comprehensive asset register. This would be finalised in 2005, as part of the City's quest to obtain a clean audit report.
Moloi added Johannesburg had raised R2-billion by issuing two bonds in the year under review. "R1.04 billion of the money was used to refinance debts and R900-million went to capital expenditure," he said.
Roland Hunter, acting CEO of the Revenue Shared Services Centre, said the City would work aggressively to recoup money owed by ratepayers. Hunter said his department has compiled a list of 65 debtors who jointly owed the City over R165-million. "We will be pursuing them vigorously," he warned.
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
