The worst-run province by far in South Africa revealed
The Free State stands out as the most distressed and worst-performing province in South Africa.
This is according to the latest Auditor General (AG)’s 2024-25 Consolidated General Report, which noted that the province is plagued by severe governance, compliance, and financial failures.
The report found that local government across South Africa continues to struggle. “Limited progress has been achieved, and the state of local government remains concerning,” said AG Tsakani Maluleke.
She noted that 57% of municipalities maintained the same audit outcome as they had in 2020/21, while 15% regressed.
Only 39 municipalities, or 15% of the country’s total, achieved clean audits in the 2024/25 financial year, accounting for just 8% of the total local government budget.
While the Western Cape remains the country’s strongest-performing province, improvements in provinces such as the Eastern Cape, Free State, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and North West have been slow and are often not sustained.
The report also flagged concerning regressions in Gauteng, given the province’s significant economic importance in South Africa.
However, while the Northern Cape and North West also continue to face serious governance and financial problems, the AG identified the Free State as the country’s most distressed province by a considerable margin.
One of the clearest indicators is the province’s audit outcomes. A disclaimer is the worst possible audit opinion, which indicates that auditors could not obtain enough evidence to express an opinion on a municipality’s financial statements.
The Free State recorded five disclaimed audits, compared with just one each in the Northern Cape and North West. The AG also noted that three of the seven repeat disclaimers are in the Free State.
The province was also the only one where municipalities failed to submit all required financial information on time.
According to the report, the audits of two municipalities in the Free State, namely Nala and Maluti-A-Phofung, had not been completed due to the late or non-submission of financial statements.
Poor service delivery and decaying infrastructure
Additionally, the province has failed to produce a single clean municipal audit for more than seven years.
The report also highlighted the Free State’s exceptionally high number of material irregularities (MIs), which identify significant financial losses, fraud or serious harm to the public.
The province recorded 104 MIs, far exceeding the North West’s 60 and the Northern Cape’s 49. The AG noted that a fifth of the MIs (20%) were issued to auditees in the Free State.
Financial sustainability remains another major concern. The AG said the Free State, Gauteng and Mpumalanga had the highest prevalence of municipalities with deficits.
91% of Free State municipalities incurred unauthorised expenditure, compared with 86% in the North West and 77% in the Northern Cape.
The province also recorded the longest delays in paying suppliers anywhere in South Africa. While the Northern Cape took an average of 144 days to settle creditors, the Free State had the longest average payment period (174 days), placing further pressure on businesses that depend on municipal payments.
Opposition parties said the report confirms years of decline. The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) said the AG had once again singled out the Free State as one of the worst-performing provinces in the country regarding municipal governance and financial control.
The party noted that the ANC’s culture of laxity, complacency, and poor management has a direct impact on the daily lives of residents in the Free State.
It added that residents have lost confidence in their municipalities due to years of poor service delivery and decaying infrastructure.
The VF Plus pointed to the Mangaung Metro as an example, where only 50% of service delivery targets were achieved despite R18.4 million being spent on audit consultants.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) added that political infighting, vacant critical posts, and reliance on costly external providers have crippled governance and service delivery.
The party called for the immediate appointment of independent administrators and the urgent implementation of strict accountability measures across all failing municipalities.
The DA argued that the people of the Free State deserve transparent, competent, and service-driven local government.
Images of service delivery collapse across the Free State
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