Local Municipality

AbaQulusi

KZN · VryheidKZN263

No corruption incidents linked to this municipality on the 4FactSake archive yet. Live audit + finance data ships in Phase 2.

Accountability IndexDraft

Composite 0–100 score (higher = better), from audit opinion, capex execution and linked incidents.

Functioning

Audit67%: 80/100unqualified emphasis of matter
Capex—: n/acapex data not yet available
Incidents33%: 100/100no incidents linked

Missing components (capex) excluded; remaining weights renormalised.

Leadership

Current municipal officials accountable for governance and finance, sourced from National Treasury.

Mayor

Cllr SE Mkhwanazi

mayor@abaqulusi.gov.za

Deputy Mayor

Mr S Siyaya

deputymayor@abaqulusi.gov.za

Municipal Manager

Mrs SP Dlamini

municipalmanager@abaqulusi.gov.za

Chief Financial Officer

Mr MPE Mthembu

mmthembu@abaqulusi.gov.za

Speaker

Cllr M.B. Khumalo

speaker@abaqulusi.gov.za

Demographics — Census 2022

Per-capita normalisation lets us put the financial figures into human terms.

Population

247 263

Households

59 032

Unemployment

35.4%

Electricity90.3%

Piped water76.8%

Flush toilet54.0%

Refuse collected54.2%

Water — Blue / Green / No Drop

DWS scores measure Water Service Authorities. This local muni delegates water services to its district.

Water service is provided by Zululand District Municipality. See that page for Blue / Green / No Drop scores.

Conditional grants (Treasury)

National + provincial grants flowing to this muni. Conditional grants are tied to specific outcomes — underspend is a red flag for delivery, not a saving.

Latest year

23/24

Adjusted budget

R95.6M

Actually spent

R60.6M

Unspent

R35.0M

Utilisation

63.4%Underspent

R61M spent

R35M unspent

63% spent37% unspent

Largest conditional grants — box size = budget, colour = utilisation

Box size = budget · colour = utilisation (green = spent, red = underspent, hollow = no data). Hover a grant.

Equitable Share (unconditional)

ESG·Local Government Equitable Share

no data

R203.7M budgeted·— spent

ESG is not a conditional grant — it can be spent at the muni's discretion. Shown for scale only.

Tender awards (eTender Publication Portal)

Cross-referenced against the Restricted Suppliers List on the award date.

No award notices on file for this municipality yet. Coverage expands as the operator transcribes from eTenders.gov.za.

Once awards are loaded, this panel surfaces every published contract awarded by the muni, with B-BBEE level, supplier registration, and a flag for any awards made to suppliers on the National Restricted Suppliers List.

Accountability trajectory · 2020 – 2026

The line traces the audit opinion (higher = cleaner); bars are irregular/fruitless/unauthorised expenditure, dots are documented incidents, and dashed markers are Section 139 interventions. Sustained decline rarely happens in a single bad year.

Audit opinion has improved over the period.

Financial Health — FY24/25

Cash position, solvency, and infrastructure-maintenance signal. Source: National Treasury cflow_v2 + financial_position_v2 + repmaint_v2.

Cash on hand

R26.8M

Net assets

R648.7M

Operating cash flow

—

Repairs & maintenance

R97.9M

National Treasury & AGSA

Public finance data ingested directly from National Treasury cubes (incexp_v2, capital_v2, audit_opinions, uifwexp).

Latest Audit Outcome — FY23/24

Unqualified - Emphasis of Matter items

Irregular: R125.6M
Fruitless: R9.9M
Unauthorised: R310.7M

AGSA report

Capital Spending — FY25/26

Original budgetR291.5M

Adjusted budgetR349.0M

Actual—

Treasury §71·76d agoTreasury MTREF·12d agoAGSA MFMA·today

Aged Balances — FY24/25

Receivables from ratepayers (debtors) and amounts owed to suppliers (creditors). Source: National Treasury aged_debtor_v2 + aged_creditor_v2 cubes.

Owed TO the muni (receivables)

R523.2M

R389.2M (74%) over 1 year — effectively uncollectable

Water: R83.0M
Electricity: R73.8M
Property rates: R134.7M

Owed BY the muni (creditors)

R277.3M

Bulk electricity(Eskom): R229.7M
Bulk water: R0
Trade: R47.6M

AGSA Material Irregularities

Section 4(3) MI register — specific findings the Auditor-General has flagged for active investigation, recommendations, or referral to law enforcement.

5 material irregularities on record

Likely substantial harm to general public — notified 2025-08-14

Recommendations Made

FY24/25

AGSA action:Appropriate action being taken to resolve MI / Appropriate actions - follow-up not yet due

Source

Likely material financial loss — notified 2022-01-18

Resolved

FY24/25

AGSA action:Resolved MI / Resolved in prior periods

Source

Likely material financial loss — notified 2022-02-07

Resolved

FY24/25

AGSA action:Resolved MI / Resolved in prior periods

Source

Material financial loss — notified 2021-12-06

Resolved

FY24/25

AGSA action:Resolved MI / Resolved in prior periods

Source

Material financial loss — notified 2021-12-06

Resolved

FY24/25

AGSA action:Resolved MI / Resolved in prior periods

Source

Methodology & sources

Live data from National Treasury cubes (incexp_v2, capital_v2, audit_opinions, uifwexp, aged_debtor_v2, aged_creditor_v2, cflow_v2, financial_position_v2, repmaint_v2, officials) and operator-curated AGSA Section 4(3) Material Irregularities, Stats SA Census, Cogta Section 139 intervention records, DWS Blue / Green / No Drop water-services audits, IEC Local Government Election results + political control history, and Treasury conditional grants (grants_v2) — allocation versus actual spend per grant. The Accountability Index methodology is a draft pending sensitivity testing — treat the score as a working signal, not a final verdict. It currently weighs three of four intended signals — audit opinion (50%), capital-budget execution (25%) and linked corruption incidents (25%); a fourth pillar, service delivery (Stats SA non-financial census), is not yet wired in. Where a signal is missing for a municipality, its weight is renormalised across the rest.