I want to take this opportunity on behalf of the Greater Kokstad Municipal Council to extend words of gratitude towards the hard work displayed during the audit period.

I want to quote the words of the famous author and philosopher Charles Dickens; in A Tale of Two Cities " It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair”.

However, the audit outcome demonstrates that good outcomes are derived from hardworking efforts. If we want to build an ethical, sustainable, and capable state requires men and women who are committed to achieving their goals.

As our vision says, "A People-Centred City of Economic Possibilities by 2047", we must understand, to quote former President Thabo Mbeki, that: "gloom and despondency have never defeated adversity. Trying times need courage and resilience. Our strength as a people is not tested during the best of times”.

Furthermore, as the Greater Kokstad municipality, we have a huge responsibility towards building a strong and resilient institution which can deliver quality basic services to the people of Kokstad.

During the clean audit assessment meeting I observed some fundamental institutional gaps and room for improvement, and we must rectify where it is necessitated as we strive towards obtaining a clean audit report. As the political head of the institution, I have drawn inferences on how we can improve in the next audit period. However, fundamental to the issues raised, alignment of the key performance indicators and SDBIP will be vital that we continue to monitor and develop a robust turnaround strategy.

We will have to develop an action plan that will ensure that all matters of compliance are being looked at vigorously by management.

We need to strengthen monitoring and evaluation within the institution with priority being given to submission of information timeously to allow the relevant units ample time to process reports and ensure quality assurance.

Alluding to the above, I want to urge you to consider Bi-Annual reviews on conditional assets and fixed assets to prevent misalignments in the Annual Financial Statements.

We also need to eradicate the mentality of working in silos and adopt the companionship of working together. A collaborative effort within all the municipal units will usher us towards achieving the vision of the municipality.

Lastly, I want to congratulate all the key role players during the difficult times leading to yesterday's last submission. I am writing this statement from the deepest of my heart as

your leader in governance and I fully appreciate the stewardship of our Municipal Manager, Mr S.R. Zwane for providing strategic guidance throughout the audit process.

Wish you all the best and success towards the 2025 financial year as Greater Kokstad Municipality.

Yours in Governance

MNL Madikizela