Provincial information

Provincial overview

Every province has a unique story and the provincial outcomes often reflect the experiences of the people in that province.

In this section, we cover:

• the key results from our audits in the provinces
• an overview of the state of provincial government in each of the nine provinces, summarising our main insights on:

• • financial, performance and infrastructure management
  • how we have used our enhanced mandate
  • what should be done to improve the situation, and by whom
  • commitments made by those with whom we engage.

Click on the map below to read an overview of the state of the provincial government

Click to see provincial audit outcomes

Key results from provincial audits

Go to Overall audit outcomes

Provincial government is responsible for approximately 28% (or R711,41 billion) of the total national and provincial budget and plays a significant role in implementing government’s service delivery priorities.

The provincial audit outcomes have shown a gradual upward trend since the end of the previous administration’s term – 47 auditees have improved and 11 auditees have regressed over this period, with the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal showing significant improvement.

The provinces continued to struggle with the preparation of credible financial statements and annual performance reports, thus reducing the effectiveness of monitoring and oversight processes and compromising service delivery. In total, 58% of provincial auditees submitted poor-quality financial statements and 54% submitted poor-quality performance reports for auditing.

Some provinces showed signs of significant financial difficulty, with 22 auditees being in such a dire position that there is significant doubt as to whether they will be able to continue operating as a going concern in the near future. This, and other indicators of poor financial health such as deficits, cash shortfalls and unpaid claims, would have affected their ability to deliver services.

Putting further strain on the provincial purse, was the R30,84 billion in irregular expenditure disclosed by provincial auditees in 2021-22. The closing balance of all provincial irregular expenditure stood at R192,99 billion.