Kouga municipality turnaround: how a distressed council got two clean audits in a row
Bernard DUPONT, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Kouga municipality turnaround: how a distressed council got two clean audits in a row
Kouga Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape achieved clean audits — unqualified opinions with no findings — in both 2023/24 and 2024/25, after years of financial distress before 2016. The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) records no findings on performance or compliance in 2024/25 and no material irregularities since 2019, while the municipality says revenue collection improved to 94%.
Kouga trended on 19 October 2026 as a governance turnaround story ahead of the 4 November local elections. Here is what the record shows, and what a clean audit does and does not prove.
Where is Kouga and who does it serve?
Kouga includes Jeffreys Bay, St Francis Bay, Humansdorp, Oyster Bay and Patensie. AGSA's municipal profile puts it at 107,014 residents across 42,264 households in Sarah Baartman District, with Census 2022 access figures including 88.2% piped water inside the dwelling and 96.9% electricity for lighting — context for the services a clean audit sits behind.
How bad was it before the turnaround?
BusinessTech's turnaround report said that before the 2016 local elections Kouga had depleted cash reserves, mounting debts including to Eskom, delays paying local businesses, weak financial controls, procurement irregularities, and neglected infrastructure causing water leaks, electricity disruptions and deteriorating roads. AGSA repeatedly raised failures to investigate unauthorised, irregular and wasteful expenditure and late payment of creditors beyond the required 30 days.
What does two clean audits mean?
A clean audit is an unqualified opinion with no findings: credible financial and performance reporting and compliance with legislation, in AGSA's terms. AGSA's 2024/25 page for Kouga shows:
| Year | AGSA outcome |
|---|---|
| 2024/25 | Unqualified with no findings |
| 2023/24 | Unqualified with no findings |
| 2022/23 | Unqualified with findings |
Kouga Municipality said its 2023/24 clean audit was its first since formation in 2000, with zero irregular, fruitless, wasteful or unauthorised expenditure that year. Mayor Hattingh Bornman credited Municipal Manager Charl du Plessis and CFO Riaaz Lorgat.
What changed in practice?
Reporting on the turnaround points to clearing legacy debt, improving revenue collection to 94%, paying creditors within 30 days, competent appointments, consequence management, cascaded performance agreements and digital systems for incident management and document control. Kouga also received a Municipal Service Award at the Ratings Afrika Municipal Performance Awards as best-performing municipality in the Eastern Cape, according to BusinessTech.
A clean audit does not by itself mean every road, tap and streetlight works perfectly. It means the money and performance reports passed audit without findings. Residents judge service delivery separately — which is why both the audit record and local service experience matter in an election.
Why does this matter before 4 November?
Local government elections are on 4 November 2026. Kouga is being cited nationally as proof a distressed municipality can recover with financial discipline and stable administration. Voters elsewhere can use the same public tests: read your municipality's AGSA outcome, check whether creditors are paid in 30 days, and ask whether irregular expenditure is investigated — all figures your council must report.
FAQ
Did Kouga municipality get two clean audits?
Yes. AGSA records Kouga as unqualified with no findings in both 2023/24 and 2024/25, improved from unqualified with findings in 2022/23.
When was Kouga's first clean audit?
2023/24. Kouga Municipality said it was its first-ever clean audit since formation in 2000, with zero irregular, fruitless, wasteful or unauthorised expenditure that year.
What was Kouga like before the turnaround?
Before 2016 it had depleted cash reserves, debts including to Eskom, late payment of creditors, weak controls and procurement irregularities, according to BusinessTech reporting on AGSA findings.
Does a clean audit mean services are perfect in Kouga?
No. A clean audit means financial and performance reporting had no audit findings and complied with legislation. Service quality — water, roads, electricity — must still be judged on delivery on the ground.