Improvements to good governance are being hindered by “serious issues” across certain local and regional councils, an audit has found.
In a report published on Monday, the Auditor General singled out two local councils in particular for governance failures.
The Qala council was found to have engaged in “excessive spending” on events and overseas travel. Shortcomings in procurement were also found, with the council often resorting to direct orders.
Swieqi’s local council was rapped for failing to engage with the Auditor General about issues identified during the audit.
“This denotes a sense of irresponsibility by the respective council to act upon the weaknesses identified. This is completely unacceptable to the National Audit Office,” the report says.
The Auditor General said despite ongoing efforts to chase defaulters, the audited financial statements of 11 local councils were not submitted by the necessary deadline.
Birgu, Fgura, Floriana, Għasri, Ħamrun, St Julians, San Ġwann, Ta’ Xbiex, Valletta, Xagħra and Xewkija were all named and shamed by the Auditor General for failing to submit their audited accounts.
Some of the delays were primarily triggered by the previous year’s audit being either concluded very late or not at all.
The Auditor General said this had a ripple effect on the audit for financial year 2023, as the time available for audit fieldwork was insufficient.
In the case of Birgu, Ħamrun and St Julian’s, the audits of both financial years 2022 and 2023 were still pending by mid-October 2024.
Moreover, in the case of Birgu and Ħamrun, the audit for the financial year 2021 was also not yet concluded, with the former also still working on those for the preceding two years.
The Auditor General described the situation as “unacceptable” and as demonstrating a lack of accountability.
In the majority of cases, delays were caused by a lack of council cooperation with auditors, the report says.
This hindered the audit's progress and, in some instances, brought the process to a halt as the required information was not provided on time.
"This office considers the situation unacceptable, as it demonstrates a lack of accountability by the respective Council," the report reads.
Of the councils that did submit their audited accounts, 48% were issued with what is known as a qualified opinion, meaning auditors were unable to audit certain aspects of the accounts due to restrictions in the available information or financial statements containing material errors.
On the financial front, concerns were raised about how Kalkara, Xgħajra and the Eastern regional council did not have sufficient reserves to cover their financial deficits.
“This office considers the negative financial situation of the three Councils in question as unacceptable and for which prompt remedial action is required,” the Auditor General said.