One South African municipality wrote off R172.4 million in unauthorised expenditure and missed 70% of its targets

The Freedom Front Plus’ Gert Hay said the AbaQulusi Local Municipality is under severe financial strain and lacks a workable turnaround plan.

He shared this view in a press statement on the AbaQulusi Local Municipality’s budget for the 2026/27 financial year.

Abaqulusi Municipality is a local municipality within Zululand District Municipality, in KwaZulu-Natal.

It is named after the abaQulusi, a Zulu clan whose descendants live in the vicinity of Vryheid, Utrecht, Paulpietersburg and Louwsburg.

Hay said that the budget was adopted during a recent council meeting without sufficient debate or documentation.

“Councillors were not given enough time to examine the relevant documents and make an informed decision,” he said.

He added that the recommendation to write off R172.4 million in unauthorised expenditure is particularly concerning. These include:

• R102.4 million for finance and administration
• R32.3 million for energy sources
• R27.3 million for water management
• Millions more for other municipal departments

The internal audit report and the latest Auditor-General (AG) report highlight weak financial controls.

There was non-compliance with the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), under-budgeting, and unrealistic practices.

“Only 30% of projected targets were achieved, despite 100% expenditure,” Hay said in his press statement.

The Municipality can no longer meet its Eskom commitments. Water losses remain extremely high at more than 50%, while electricity losses stand at 26%.

Infrastructure projects such as roadworks and community facilities remain incomplete, while budgets for repair and maintenance have been further slashed.

“It is unfair to expect residents to pay higher tariffs while there is no financial control and service delivery continues to deteriorate,” he said.