Methodology, Sources and Acknowledgements

We have taken care to collect, capture and cross-reference the information in the Handbook as accurately as possible. It should, however, be recognised that some types of information listed change frequently. It is inevitable that some of the information will be incorrect at source or become outdated during and after publication. We, therefore, take no legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information in the Handbook.

This Handbook is the sister-publication of our website – municipalities.co.za. The website displays more extensive information than the Handbook, and is updated throughout the year. Where practical, the website references and links to the original source reports. If you notice any errors or omissions, contact us at info@municipalities.co.za so that we may correct the website and future editions of the Handbook.

Contact details, municipal descriptions, and particulars of political and administrative personnel are updated primarily via an annual survey that we conduct with all municipalities. The latest survey took place from November 2021 to February 2022 and the information should be considered up to date during this period.

While we go to great effort to gather complete and accurate information, some municipalities are more responsive than others. Where possible, we cross-reference against their website, records provided by SALGA, and other credible sources.

Municipal area information is supplied by the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) and underlying source material for the maps by the GIS/IT department of the Board. Area information was last updated in May 2021, after the ward delimitation process preceding the 2021 Local Government Elections. Refer to demarcation.org.za for information on the MDB.

Demographic information is provided by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). The figures in the Handbook are Community Survey 2016 data (as fully restated by Stats SA to reflect the municipal demarcations that took effect in August 2016). Census 2011 data is available at municipalities.co.za, including historical information for disestablished municipalities. Refer to statssa.gov.za for data and publications from Stats SA.

Council seats are based on figures published by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). It reflects the 2021 Local Government Election results in respect of Metropolitan and Local Municipalities. Regarding District Municipalities, full council information is supplied by the municipalities, where available. In cases where the council seat list is followed by ‘40% PR Seats’, the figures only reflect the 40% directly elected proportional representation seats as reported by the IEC, and not the full council. Refer to elections.org.za for information on the IEC.

Audit Outcomes are sourced from the Consolidated general report on the audit outcomes of local government, PFMA, published annually by the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA). The full reports are available from AGSA’s offices or at agsa.co.za. The terminology used is described by AGSA as follows: Clean audit outcome: The financial statements are free from material misstatements (in other words, a financially unqualified audit opinion) and there are no material findings on the quality of the annual performance report or non-compliance with legislation. Financially unqualified with findings: The financial statements contain no material misstatements. Unless the Auditor-General expresses a clean audit outcome, findings have been raised on either the annual performance report or non-compliance with legislation, or both these aspects. Qualified audit opinion: The financial statements contain material misstatements in specific amounts, or there is insufficient evidence for the Auditor-General to conclude that specific amounts included in the financial statements are not materially misstated. Adverse audit opinion: The financial statements contain material misstatements that are not confined to specific amounts, or the misstatements represent a substantial portion of the financial statements. Disclaimer of audit opinion: The auditee provided insufficient evidence in the form of documentation on which to base an audit opinion. The lack of sufficient evidence is not confined to specific amounts or represents a substantial portion of the information contained in the financial statements.

The Handbook includes financials for the 2020/21 financial year. At the time of compiling this edition, the 2020/21 audits were still being finalised by AGSA and reports for the 2020/21 year were generally not available. The audit result is, therefore, shown as ‘n/a’.

Comprehensive financial information is available on our website – municipalities.co.za. The individual sources are indicated and links to source documentation are provided under ‘Resources’.

Financial information is sourced from figures made available by the National Treasury at http://mfma.treasury.gov.za.

• The figures in the Handbook are sourced from the Consolidated

S71 C1 Schedules, published quarterly by National Treasury as part of the S71 in-year management process, or the A1 Schedules, published by National Treasury as part of the annual MTREF process.

The website indicates the specific source for each year’s figures. • Schedule C1 and A1 reports are submitted in the format for municipal financial statements as prescribed by the Municipal Budget and

Reporting Regulations. The figures are standardised to the prescribed format and may differ from the Audited Financial

Statements. Where we have captured figures directly from the

Audited Financial Statements, we have endeavoured to follow the prescribed format. • The figures for ‘Total Revenue’ include ‘Transfers recognised – capital’ and ‘Contributions recognised – capital & contributed assets’ as per the Schedule C1 or A1 format. • The figures for ‘Surplus/(Deficit)’ reflect ‘Surplus/(Deficit) after capital transfers & contributions’ plus ‘Share of surplus/(deficit) of associate’. • All financial figures are rounded to the nearest R’000. R0 values are reflected as ‘-’. Values that are unavailable are reflected as ‘n/a’.

Unauthorised, Irregular, Fruitless and Wasteful Expenditure is supplied by the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA). If the figures are unavailable in this report, they may be sourced from the municipality’s Annual Financial Statements.

While we have aggregated the figures for the purpose of the Handbook, each type of expenditure is distinct from the other. The terminology is described by AGSA as follows:

Unauthorised Expenditure: Expenditure that was in excess of the amount budgeted or allocated by government to the auditee, or that was not incurred in accordance with the purpose for which it was intended. Irregular Expenditure: Expenditure incurred without complying with applicable legislation. Fruitless and wasteful expenditure: Expenditure that was made in vain and could have been avoided had reasonable care been exercised. This includes penalties and interest on late payments, as well as payments for services not utilised or goods not received.

The separate figures for each type of expenditure are available at municipalities.co.za.

Employment statistics are sourced from the Non-financial census of municipalities, published by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). In particular, the municipal data is sourced from the Statistical Release P9115 Unit Data, available at statssa.gov.za. Up until 2018/19 the census was conducted annually, and thereafter biennially. The 2020/21 report is expected to become available in August 2022.

The data is collected by Stats SA via a questionnaire completed by municipalities. Stats SA also uses personal visits, telephone, fax, email and post as methods to collect data. When assessing the employment data, it should be noted that: • The data is self-reported by municipalities and is not audited at individual level. • Municipalities may have reported vacancies on a differing basis, depending on different interpretations of the reporting of funded and/or unfunded positions. Some municipalities indicated no vacancies at all in the surveys. • ‘Total Employment Positions’ (in our reporting) combines full-time, part-time and vacant positions. Significant variances in year-onyear numbers may be explained by increases or decreases in temporary or part-time positions. • ‘Managerial Positions’ (in our reporting) combines S57 managerial positions (as defined by the Local Government Municipal Systems

Act) and all other managerial positions according to the municipal organogram. • The P9115 statistical release contains preliminary results of the latest year indicated and revised figures for the preceding year.

In each succeeding year the previous year’s figures may be revised. • ‘Total Employment Cost’ (in our reporting) combines ‘Employee costs’ and ‘Remuneration of councillors’ as sourced from the MFMA S71 4th Quarter Schedule C reports (see Financial

Information above).

Service delivery statistics are sourced from the Non-financial census of municipalities, published by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). In particular, the municipal data is sourced from the Statistical Release P9115 Unit Data, available at statssa.gov.za. Up until 2018/19 the census was conducted annually, and thereafter biennially. The 2020/21 report is expected to become available in August 2022.

• The data is self-reported by municipalities and is not audited at individual level. • The data is not necessarily comparable with the Stats SA population census of 2011 and/or household survey data, mainly due to: - the data source being municipalities as opposed to households - the different definitions of household - differing reporting periods. • ‘Households’, as reflected in this data, is defined as a domestic entity to which the service is provided and which receives one bill (if the service is billed), alternatively known as a delivery point. This concept is often referred to as a household by municipalities, but this is not strictly correct, as households and consumer units do not coincide one-to-one, particularly in blocks of flats, on stands where there are multiple households in the same dwelling or in additional dwellings, such as garden flats, backyard rooms, etc. and in the case of public taps.

Most municipalities do not have a system for identifying multiple households served by one billing unit or delivery point. • ‘Households – Free Basic Services’ means the number of

Households that have access to free basic services. Where a municipality has implemented broad-based targeting or technical targeting to allocate free basic services, everyone may receive a basic level of free services, e.g. the first 6Kl of water. In this case, the figures for free basic services may be equal to the total number of Households served. • ‘Total Customer Entities Served’ includes both domestic

Households and non-domestic consumer units, e.g. industrial, commercial, schools, clinics and hospitals, government departments, etc. Not all municipalities have a system to distinguish domestic Households and non-domestic consumer units. • The P9115 statistical release contains the preliminary results of the latest year indicated and the revised figures for the preceding year. In each succeeding year the previous year’s figures may be revised.

We acknowledge and thank the Department: Government Communication and Information System for providing invaluable source material. We have made use of the South Africa Yearbook, published annually by the GCIS, in compiling the overview and provincial introductory information.