COGTA ANNUAL REPORT 2020

4. REPORT OF THE ACCOUNTING OFFICER

Bongani Gxilishe Head of Department

Overview of the operations of the Department: This annual report reflects the Department’s achievements, challenges, interventions, programmes, and deviations, as well as expenditures for the Financial Year 2019/20 under review. Since joining this Department, my task as Accounting Officer has been strengthened by a motivated team that is committed towards enabled and well- governed municipalities that deliver services to communities in a responsive, sustainable, and integrated manner. During this reporting period, our mission has been to monitor, coordinate, and support municipalities to be effective in fulfilling their developmental mandate and facilitate service delivery and disaster resilience through engagement with government spheres and social partners. The Gauteng Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) has the responsibility and Constitutional Mandate to monitor the performance of local government (municipalities), as well as provide support to municipalities towards the achievement of their service delivery mandate. The Department has a specific coordination role aimed at facilitating effective intergovernmental relations between the various spheres of government, with a particular focus on the provision of adequate support to the municipalities. The Department is further responsible for coordinating Disaster Management in Gauteng. During this reporting period, the Department’s performance has been guided and measured by the following four programmes: Administration, Local Governance and Support, Development Planning and Traditional Institutional Management. During the year under review, and true to the nature of our mandate, we had a significant number of achievements while we also had to overcome a great deal of challenges along the way.

G A U T E N G P R O V I N C I A L G O V E R N M E N T I C O- O P E R A T I V E G O V E R N A N C E A N D T R A D I T I O N A L A F F A I R S ANNUAL REPORT 2019/20 8