A Guide for Councillors

Part 6 Understanding the Municipal Finance Management Act

What reports do councillors need? performance objectives and KPIs (part of the municipality’s SDBIP and IDP) • the proposed budget of the municipality and municipal entity • the approved budgets of the municipality and municipal entity monthly fi nancial reports reports on salaries and payments to councillors and of fi cials • • • mid-year budget and performance assessment • the annual report of the municipality and municipal entity •

When?

June each year

by

each year *

31 March

by

each year * 31 May

each month

each month

January each year

by 31 January each year *

the oversight report with audit report for acceptance, referral or rejection •

by 31 March at latest

* a written explanation must be provided if it is not received by that date.

6.2 Resolving fi nancial issues The executive mayor or committee, council, municipal manager and senior of fi cials must work as a team to ensure that the municipality meets its fi nancial commitments. The council takes responsibility for avoiding, identifying and resolving fi nancial problems. What kinds of problems are considered serious? These are some of the warning signs that a municipality is in serious fi nancial dif fi culty: the municipality has not paid its debts when they are due the municipality has spent more than it has received in revenue together with what it has saved the municipality cannot get credit from banks the municipality is more than 60 days late in submitting its annual fi nancial statements to the Auditor-General • • • • !

theAuditor-General haswithheld an opinion or has issued an opinion which identi fi es a serious fi nancial problem in the municipality.

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The Role of Councillors in Municipal Finance Management