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How is it spent, and is the metro well run?

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metros got a clean audit from the Auditor-General for 2024-25.

Official: Auditor-General · Data as of 2024-25 financial year (audited) · Last updated

An asterisk marks a figure our automated checks found inconsistent with another official figure. It is shown as reported, explained in a footnote and left out of rankings.

Audit outcomes

Official: Auditor-General · Data as of 2024-25 audits (Auditor-General, tabled 24 Jun 2026) · Last updated

What these words mean
Audit outcome
The Auditor-General’s verdict on a metro’s annual financial statements and how it followed the law.
2020-212021-222022-232023-242024-25JohannesburgWith findingsWith findingsWith findingsWith findingsWith findingsTshwaneWith findingsAdverseQualifiedQualifiedQualifiedEkurhuleniCleanCleanWith findingsWith findingsQualifiedCape TownWith findingsCleanCleanCleanWith findingseThekwiniWith findingsWith findingsWith findingsWith findingsWith findingsNelson Mandela BayQualifiedQualifiedWith findingsQualifiedQualifiedBuffalo CityQualifiedWith findingsQualifiedQualifiedQualifiedMangaungWith findingsQualifiedQualifiedQualifiedQualified
  • Clean audit
  • Unqualified, with findings
  • Qualified
  • Adverse
  • Disclaimer
  • Outstanding

Financial years run from July to June. Each outcome links to its source: the Auditor-General’s audit report, as published by National Treasury (Municipal Money), for 2020-21 to 2023-24; and the Auditor-General, MFMA 2024-25 audit outcomes (tabled 24 Jun 2026) for 2024-25. Johannesburg’s outcome is for the city and its entities together (consolidated), as the Auditor-General reports it.

Johannesburg: For 2024-25 the Auditor-General lists the city’s own (separate) financial statements as “Qualified”; the outcome shown is for the city and its entities together (consolidated).

A clean audit means the financial statements are reliable and there were no material findings on performance reporting or compliance with the law. Unqualified with findings: the statements are reliable, but the auditors found problems with performance reporting or compliance. Qualified: parts of the statements could not be relied on. Adverse: the statements were wrong in many respects. Disclaimer: the auditors could not find enough evidence to give an opinion.

Spending the rules did not allow

Official: Auditor-General, National Treasury · Data as of 2024-25 financial year (audited) · Last updated

Unauthorised

Spending more than the council approved in the budget, or spending on something the budget did not provide for.

Irregular

Spending that did not follow the rules, usually the procurement rules for getting quotes or running a tender.

Fruitless and wasteful

Spending that was made in vain and could have been avoided with reasonable care, such as interest paid on a late account.

Irregular does not mean stolen. It means the rules for spending the money were not followed. The goods or services may still have been delivered at a fair price. The council must investigate each case, and may condone it or recover the money.

Irregular expenditure · 2024-25

R4.48bn

Highest: eThekwini.

  1. eThekwiniR4.48bnR1038.47 per resident
  2. TshwaneR3.24bnR807.17 per resident
  3. JohannesburgR2.37bnR402.14 per resident
  4. Nelson Mandela BayR2.08bnR1638.48 per resident
  5. Buffalo CityR1.14bnR1300.16 per resident
  6. Cape TownR905.5mR180.87 per resident
  7. MangaungR260.8mR302.20 per resident
  8. EkurhuleniR137.6mR34.31 per resident

Source: National Treasury, Municipal Money. Each figure links to its exact query. These amounts are as disclosed in the audited financial statements. 2024-25 figures come from the Auditor-General’s MFMA 2024-25 report, which Treasury’s dataset does not have yet; earlier years are checked against the Auditor-General’s figures.

Unauthorised expenditure · 2024-25

R2.38bn

Highest: Johannesburg.

  1. JohannesburgR2.38bnR403.26 per resident
  2. Nelson Mandela BayR1.65bnR1300.01 per resident
  3. TshwaneR1.30bnR323.30 per resident
  4. MangaungR1.13bnR1304.72 per resident
  5. Buffalo CityR646.8mR737.92 per resident
  6. EkurhuleniR0R0.00 per resident
  7. Cape TownR0R0.00 per resident
  8. eThekwiniR0R0.00 per resident

Source: National Treasury, Municipal Money. Each figure links to its exact query. These amounts are as disclosed in the audited financial statements. 2024-25 figures come from the Auditor-General’s MFMA 2024-25 report, which Treasury’s dataset does not have yet; earlier years are checked against the Auditor-General’s figures.

Fruitless and wasteful expenditure · 2023-24

R793.0m

Highest: Tshwane.

  1. TshwaneR793.0mR202.04 per resident
  2. MangaungR122.5mR143.18 per resident
  3. Nelson Mandela BayR17.1mR13.48 per resident
  4. eThekwiniR6.7mR1.58 per resident
  5. JohannesburgR1.5mR0.26 per resident
  6. Buffalo CityR692 826R0.79 per resident
  7. Cape TownR0R0.00 per resident
  8. EkurhuleniR407 324*1not ranked

Source: National Treasury, Municipal Money. Each figure links to its exact query. These amounts are as disclosed in the audited financial statements. 2024-25 figures come from the Auditor-General’s MFMA 2024-25 report, which Treasury’s dataset does not have yet; earlier years are checked against the Auditor-General’s figures.

  • *1 As reported to National Treasury. This figure is inconsistent with the year before (it is 184.9 times smaller than the 2022-23 figure) and may be a reporting error.
All three, as a share of operating spending · 2024-25

19.98%

Highest: Nelson Mandela Bay.

  1. Nelson Mandela Bay19.98%
  2. Buffalo City14.83%
  3. Tshwane10.08%
  4. Cape Town1.45%
  5. Ekurhuleni0.24%
  6. eThekwini7.47%*1not ranked
  7. Mangaung12.44%*2not ranked
  8. JohannesburgNot yet published

Treasury norm (Circular 71): 0%. The thin lines on the bars mark it.

Source: National Treasury, Municipal Money. Each figure links to its exact query. Operating spending is the sum of the expenditure lines in the same dataset.

  • *1 As reported to National Treasury. This figure is inconsistent with the year before (it is 10.0 times the 2023-24 figure) and may be a reporting error.
  • *2 As reported to National Treasury. This figure is inconsistent with the year before (it is 4.4 times smaller than the 2023-24 figure) and may be a reporting error.

What metros spend on

Official: audited annual financial statements · Data as of 2024-25 financial year (audited statements) · Next update expected Jan 2027 (2025-26 annual reports) · Last updated

What these words mean
Unaudited
Reported by the metro but not yet checked by the Auditor-General.
mSCOA returns
The monthly figures every municipality must send National Treasury, using one standard list of accounts.
Restated
A figure the metro corrected in the following year’s statements.

Selected costs from each metro’s audited financial statements. The per-day figure is the year’s total divided by the days in that financial year. Per resident uses Stats SA’s mid-year population estimates.

Catering and entertainment · 2024-25

R74.4m

Highest: eThekwini.

  1. eThekwiniR74.4mR203 967 a day · R17.25 per resident
  2. Cape TownR67.0mR183 585 a day · R13.38 per resident · As reported to Treasury (unaudited)
  3. JohannesburgR7.5mR20 502 a day · R1.27 per resident · As reported to Treasury (unaudited)
  4. MangaungR2.1mR5 633 a day · R2.38 per resident
  5. TshwaneR779 069R2 134 a day · R0.19 per resident · As reported to Treasury (unaudited)
  6. EkurhuleniR16.3m*1not ranked · refreshments and entertainment
  7. Nelson Mandela BayR1.5m*2not ranked
  8. Buffalo CityR5.0m*3not ranked

Source: each metro’s audited annual financial statements (municipality only, not its entities). Where the statements do not show a line separately: the next year’s statements (restated), the metro’s annual report, or its monthly mSCOA returns to National Treasury for 2023-24 and 2024-25, each marked as such. Each figure links to its source.

  • *1 As reported to National Treasury and the Auditor-General in the audited annual financial statements. This figure is inconsistent with the figure the metro reported to Treasury for the same year (R4,565,434, unaudited) (it differs from that figure by 256%) and may be a reporting error.
  • *2 As reported to National Treasury and the Auditor-General in the audited annual financial statements. This figure is inconsistent with the figure the metro reported to Treasury for the same year (R2,483,880, unaudited) (it differs from that figure by 39%) and may be a reporting error.
  • *3 As reported to National Treasury and the Auditor-General in the audited annual financial statements. This figure is inconsistent with the figure the metro reported to Treasury for the same year (R3,376,763, unaudited) (it differs from that figure by 49%) and may be a reporting error.
Consultants and professional services · 2021-22

R639.9m

Highest: Ekurhuleni.

  1. EkurhuleniR639.9mR1.8m a day · R167.68 per resident · may include legal fees
  2. Cape TownR635.0mR1.7m a day · R133.27 per resident
  3. JohannesburgR348.3mR954 378 a day · R62.38 per resident · may include legal fees
  4. eThekwiniR155.4mR425 693 a day · R37.38 per resident
  5. MangaungR85.7mR234 739 a day · R101.62 per resident · read from scanned document
  6. Nelson Mandela BayR66.2mR181 398 a day · R52.43 per resident
  7. Buffalo CityR30.3mR82 888 a day · R34.89 per resident
  8. TshwaneR4.6mR12 472 a day · R1.21 per resident

Source: each metro’s audited annual financial statements (municipality only, not its entities). Where the statements do not show a line separately: the next year’s statements (restated), the metro’s annual report, or its monthly mSCOA returns to National Treasury for 2023-24 and 2024-25, each marked as such. Each figure links to its source.

Legal fees · 2023-24

R300.5m

Highest: Johannesburg.

  1. JohannesburgR300.5mR821 060 a day · R51.92 per resident · As reported to Treasury (unaudited)
  2. Cape TownR119.0mR325 098 a day · R24.17 per resident · As reported to Treasury (unaudited)
  3. eThekwiniR63.5mR173 508 a day · R14.90 per resident
  4. EkurhuleniR47.7mR130 195 a day · R12.08 per resident · As reported to Treasury (unaudited)
  5. MangaungR21.3mR58 123 a day · R24.86 per resident
  6. TshwaneR38.8m*1not ranked
  7. Nelson Mandela BayR116.2m*2not ranked
  8. Buffalo CityR57.9m*3not ranked

Source: each metro’s audited annual financial statements (municipality only, not its entities). Where the statements do not show a line separately: the next year’s statements (restated), the metro’s annual report, or its monthly mSCOA returns to National Treasury for 2023-24 and 2024-25, each marked as such. Each figure links to its source.

  • *1 As reported to National Treasury and the Auditor-General in the audited annual financial statements. This figure is inconsistent with the year before (it is 3.5 times smaller than the 2022-23 figure) and may be a reporting error.
  • *2 As reported to National Treasury and the Auditor-General in the audited annual financial statements. This figure is inconsistent with the figure the metro reported to Treasury for the same year (R61,060,205, unaudited) (it differs from that figure by 90%) and may be a reporting error.
  • *3 As reported to National Treasury and the Auditor-General in the audited annual financial statements. This figure is inconsistent with the figure the metro reported to Treasury for the same year (R45,663,344, unaudited) (it differs from that figure by 27%) and may be a reporting error.
Overtime · 2022-23

R1.17bn

Highest: Cape Town.

  1. Cape TownR1.17bnR3.2m a day · R242.25 per resident · from the City's cost containment report in its annual report (unaudited)
  2. eThekwiniR1.10bnR3.0m a day · R261.31 per resident
  3. EkurhuleniR705.5mR1.9m a day · R181.90 per resident
  4. TshwaneR615.9mR1.7m a day · R160.51 per resident
  5. Nelson Mandela BayR388.5mR1.1m a day · R307.20 per resident
  6. JohannesburgR260.8mR714 389 a day · R45.88 per resident
  7. Buffalo CityR157.0mR430 016 a day · R180.45 per resident
  8. MangaungR142.2mR389 480 a day · R167.44 per resident · as restated in 2023-24 statements

Source: each metro’s audited annual financial statements (municipality only, not its entities). Where the statements do not show a line separately: the next year’s statements (restated), the metro’s annual report, or its monthly mSCOA returns to National Treasury for 2023-24 and 2024-25, each marked as such. Each figure links to its source.

Travel and subsistence · 2024-25

R34.1m

Highest: Cape Town.

  1. Cape TownR34.1mR93 431 a day · R6.81 per resident · As reported to Treasury (unaudited); mSCOA travel and subsistence, including staff own-transport claims
  2. eThekwiniR24.9mR68 279 a day · R5.77 per resident
  3. TshwaneR17.3mR47 273 a day · R4.30 per resident · As reported to Treasury (unaudited); mSCOA travel and subsistence, including staff own-transport claims
  4. Buffalo CityR14.6mR39 928 a day · R16.63 per resident
  5. Nelson Mandela BayR6.9mR18 865 a day · R5.43 per resident
  6. JohannesburgR5.7mR15 616 a day · R0.97 per resident
  7. MangaungR5.4mR14 734 a day · R6.23 per resident
  8. EkurhuleniR1.4mR3 811 a day · R0.35 per resident

Source: each metro’s audited annual financial statements (municipality only, not its entities). Where the statements do not show a line separately: the next year’s statements (restated), the metro’s annual report, or its monthly mSCOA returns to National Treasury for 2023-24 and 2024-25, each marked as such. Each figure links to its source.

Security services · 2021-22

R1.14bn

Highest: Cape Town.

  1. Cape TownR1.14bnR3.1m a day · R240.28 per resident
  2. eThekwiniR1.10bnR3.0m a day · R264.26 per resident
  3. EkurhuleniR519.5mR1.4m a day · R136.14 per resident
  4. MangaungR88.5mR242 443 a day · R104.95 per resident · read from scanned document
  5. JohannesburgR51.2mR140 403 a day · R9.18 per resident
  6. TshwaneR11.8mR32 218 a day · R3.13 per resident
  7. Nelson Mandela BayR7.4mR20 410 a day · R5.90 per resident
  8. Buffalo CityR5.4mR14 896 a day · R6.27 per resident

Source: each metro’s audited annual financial statements (municipality only, not its entities). Where the statements do not show a line separately: the next year’s statements (restated), the metro’s annual report, or its monthly mSCOA returns to National Treasury for 2023-24 and 2024-25, each marked as such. Each figure links to its source.

Advertising, marketing and events · 2024-25

R176.1m

Highest: eThekwini.

  1. eThekwiniR176.1mR482 567 a day · R40.81 per resident
  2. Cape TownR88.4mR242 299 a day · R17.67 per resident · As reported to Treasury (unaudited); mSCOA advertising, publicity and marketing, including recruitment and tender notices and newsletters
  3. TshwaneR25.1mR68 774 a day · R6.25 per resident
  4. Buffalo CityR14.5mR39 590 a day · R16.49 per resident
  5. Nelson Mandela BayR14.3mR39 203 a day · R11.28 per resident
  6. JohannesburgR9.0mR24 668 a day · R1.53 per resident
  7. EkurhuleniR5.8mR15 940 a day · R1.45 per resident
  8. MangaungR1.8mR4 871 a day · R2.06 per resident

Source: each metro’s audited annual financial statements (municipality only, not its entities). Where the statements do not show a line separately: the next year’s statements (restated), the metro’s annual report, or its monthly mSCOA returns to National Treasury for 2023-24 and 2024-25, each marked as such. Each figure links to its source.

Interest and penalties on late payments · 2021-22

R1.85bn

Highest: Tshwane.

  1. TshwaneR1.85bnR5.1m a day · R492.62 per resident
  2. MangaungR27.8mR76 038 a day · R32.92 per resident · read from scanned document; interest on overdue supplier accounts
  3. JohannesburgR189 000R518 a day · R0.03 per resident · interest and penalties recorded as fruitless and wasteful expenditure
  4. EkurhuleniR0R0 a day · R0.00 per resident · shown as '-' (nil) in the statements
  5. Cape TownR0R0 a day · R0.00 per resident · shown as '-' (nil) in the statements; as identified in the fruitless and wasteful expenditure note
  6. Nelson Mandela BayR0R0 a day · R0.00 per resident
  7. eThekwiniNot reported separately by the metro
  8. Buffalo CityNot reported separately by the metro

Source: each metro’s audited annual financial statements (municipality only, not its entities). Where the statements do not show a line separately: the next year’s statements (restated), the metro’s annual report, or its monthly mSCOA returns to National Treasury for 2023-24 and 2024-25, each marked as such. Each figure links to its source.

Councillor pay · 2024-25

R190.2m

Highest: Johannesburg.

  1. JohannesburgR190.2mR521 036 a day · R32.28 per resident
  2. Cape TownR175.7mR481 471 a day · R35.10 per resident
  3. EkurhuleniR161.4mR442 294 a day · R40.24 per resident
  4. eThekwiniR149.3mR409 016 a day · R34.59 per resident
  5. TshwaneR136.9mR374 963 a day · R34.09 per resident
  6. Nelson Mandela BayR85.9mR235 433 a day · R67.74 per resident
  7. MangaungR77.8mR213 200 a day · R90.19 per resident
  8. Buffalo CityR70.4mR192 804 a day · R80.28 per resident

Source: each metro’s audited annual financial statements (municipality only, not its entities). Where the statements do not show a line separately: the next year’s statements (restated), the metro’s annual report, or its monthly mSCOA returns to National Treasury for 2023-24 and 2024-25, each marked as such. Each figure links to its source. Councillor pay is also checked against Treasury’s dataset.

Population: Stats SA, Mid-year population estimates 2026 (P0302), district estimates 2002-2026.

Financial health

Official: National Treasury · Data as of 2024-25 financial year (audited) · Last updated

What these words mean
Cash coverage
How many months the metro could keep paying its running costs from the cash it holds.
Creditor payment days
How long, on average, the metro takes to pay its suppliers. The law expects 30 days.
Treasury norm
A target National Treasury sets for every municipality in MFMA Circular 71, so metros can be compared on the same scale.

National Treasury sets norms for municipal finances in MFMA Circular 71. Each card shows the norm next to every metro’s figure.

Cash coverage · 2022-23

5.2 months

5 of the 7 metros with a figure met Treasury’s norm of 1 to 3 months. Months the metro could keep paying its running costs from the cash it holds.

  1. Nelson Mandela Bay5.2 months
  2. Cape Town3.1 months
  3. Buffalo City1.3 months
  4. Mangaung1.3 months
  5. eThekwini1.0 months
  6. Ekurhuleni0.3 months
  7. Tshwane0.1 months
  8. Johannesburg0.8 months*1not ranked

Treasury norm (Circular 71): 1 to 3 months. The thin lines on the bars mark it.

Source: National Treasury, Municipal Money. Each figure links to its exact query. Calculated with the Circular 71 formula (see How we work).

  • *1 As reported to National Treasury. This figure is inconsistent with the year before (cash and cash equivalents is reported as exactly the same amount for 2021-22 and 2022-23) and may be a reporting error.
Creditor payment days · 2023-24

90 days

Only eThekwini stayed within Treasury’s norm of 30 days. Average days the metro takes to pay its suppliers.

  1. Nelson Mandela Bay90 days
  2. Mangaung83 days
  3. Buffalo City75 days
  4. eThekwini26 days
  5. Tshwane0 days*1not ranked
  6. Ekurhuleni0 days*1not ranked
  7. Cape Town0 days*2not ranked
  8. JohannesburgNot yet published

Treasury norm (Circular 71): 30 days. The thin lines on the bars mark it.

Source: National Treasury, Municipal Money. Each figure links to its exact query. Calculated with the Circular 71 formula (see How we work).

  • *1 As reported to National Treasury. This figure is inconsistent with a metro of this size, which cannot owe its trade creditors nothing at year end (trade creditors reported as zero) and may be a reporting error.
  • *2 As reported to National Treasury. This figure is inconsistent with the nature of trade creditors, which cannot be negative (reported as R-186,798) and may be a reporting error.

Norms: National Treasury MFMA Circular 71, Uniform financial ratios and norms (17 Jan 2014). Collection rate is under Money in; capital spending and maintenance under Roads and infrastructure; water and electricity losses under Water and Electricity.

2025-26, unaudited: operating spending

Official: National Treasury, Section 71 (unaudited) · Data as of 30 June 2026 (2025-26, 12 of 12 months, unaudited) · Next update expected November 2026 (Treasury’s next quarterly Section 71 release)

Operating spending as a share of the adjusted budget · 2025-26, 12 months

116%

Highest: Johannesburg.

  1. Johannesburg116%R94.76bn of R81.65bn
  2. Buffalo City105%R11.45bn of R10.92bn
  3. Mangaung97%R11.17bn of R11.46bn
  4. Tshwane97%R50.73bn of R52.45bn
  5. Cape Town93%R66.12bn of R71.34bn
  6. Ekurhuleni90%R59.04bn of R65.49bn
  7. eThekwini89%R53.95bn of R60.45bn
  8. Nelson Mandela Bay70%R13.43bn of R19.10bn

Official: National Treasury, Section 71 2025-26 quarter 4 (unaudited). Unaudited figures as each metro reported them; audited figures follow about six months after the year ends.

Unaudited: what each metro reported to National Treasury for the full year (preliminary) of 2025-26, to 30 June 2026. The audited years stay the reference; these figures are not used in headlines. Source: Treasury’s summary of metros workbook (all files).