Local councils’ work should be about enhancing the public services for their communities. To do this effectively, they need to be given authority to manage their budgets cost-efficiently, ensuring that taxpayers’ money used to finance their operations is spent judiciously.
The latest National Audit Office (NAO) report on the management of councils' finances confirms that many are not adhering to the checks and balances prescribed in the relevant legislation.
The auditors remarked that some councils ignored the procurement rules and often bought goods on an open market without bothering to obtain three different quotations. Others did not bother to reply to an official letter flagging issues in their audited account.
Understandably, the NAO argues that “the irresponsible action by the defaulting councils needs to be urgently sanctioned and prompt remedial action taken to address this problem”. The lack of enforcement of professional standards in managing taxpayers’ money by local councils is another endemic problem that prevails in the public service.
The NAO had advised the government to consider hiring and managing a centralised pool of qualified accountants responsible for preparing the council’s financial statements rather than relying on each council to do so individually. This is a good suggestion that needs to be further developed.
The fragmentation of local government entities makes it difficult for most local councils to manage their financial processes professionally. The best solution would be to centralise the local councils’ purchasing processes and the back-office work linked to them in a unit in the ministry for local councils.
Ironically, some of the more crucial local council functions, like that of garbage collection, have been centralised while the administrative load that requires professional expertise remains the councils’ responsibility. The chaos that characterised the centralised garbage collection system results from the illogical way the ministry responsible for local councils decides on the definition of duties of local government.
The NAO commented that many councils show “little interest in rectifying weaknesses identified during the audit process, sometimes opting to accept a qualified audit”.
This is a confirmation of the failure of the central government to ensure that the local government processes are kept up to date and continuously scrutinised to ensure that local councils fulfil their mission to serve the local community on the principle of giving the best value for money.
In a few months, the electorate will vote for new local councils. Many have genuine concerns about the growing trend to convert local councils into mere information centres for public services managed by the central government.
It would be ideal if the time left for these elections is used to re-engineer the processes defining local councils’ functions. A first reform should see administrative functions like procurement centralised to ensure that professional operational standards are always observed.
Returning some centralised services, like garbage collection, to the local level would be a step in the right direction. Another good step would involve local councils in decisions on significant roadworks that affect specific communities.
The local community must also be better informed and consulted on local projects sponsored by their council.
Local councils have a role to play in the life of their community. Unless the way local councils function is revised periodically, there is a distinct risk that many will lose faith in their relevance.