Sandile Mnguni CA(SA) was born and bred on the South Coast where his family used to run community shops. This ignited an immense passion within him for numbers and in Grade 11 he decided he would become a chartered accountant. However, it was easier said than done, and due to limited finances meant attending university was not on the cards for him. However, through sheer determination and the support of his former first employer, Sandie was able to successfully complete his CTA and board exams. Today, he has competed his doctorate and making a difference in the public sector.
Sandile Mnguni is currently CFO of eThekwini Municipality in local government.
‘The public sector has not been doing well in line with what is expected as articulated in our constitution. I decided to pursue a doctorate in public administration order to learn more about the public sector, its challenges and good practices with the aim of sharing some of the best practices from the study,’ he says.
His study focused on financial governance and best practices for achieving and sustaining clean audit outcomes in selected metropolitan municipalities under the academic supervision of and motivation by Professor Mogie Subban at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, who assisted him to pursue the doctoral study with diligence having provided excellent academic mentorship. ‘Professor Subban inspired my critical thinking and research skills!, says Sandile.
You indicated that your study looked at the audit outcome for metros. What were your observations in terms of good practices in general?
The following are some of the good practices that need to be considered:
- Effective municipal leadership setting the correct tone and awareness of what is expected and with initiatives to improve audit outcomes
- The attraction and retention of experienced and competent officials with the necessary skills set to implement financial management and good governance principles
- The existence of effective oversight structures over financial management and performance information reporting
- A clear compliance framework supported by compliance plans monitored by the oversight structures on a regular basis
- Implementation of consequence management and monitoring by councils
Were there any findings on how the abovementioned good practices impact service delivery?
From the study it was clear that the clean audit outcome does impact positively service delivery positively. Clean audit outcomes are used as an indicator of good governance by various organisations when assessing performance of municipalities, for example credit-rating assessments. Therefore, clean audit outcomes impact credit rating positively and also assist municipalities in mobilising investments for service delivery.
What are some of the highlights of your career?
My highlights include being the Group CFO of Ithala Development Finance Corporation where I had to ensure that funding is made available to support SMMEs in the province. This was not easy, as our economy has not been performing well over the last few years and several businesses were finding it difficult to survive under the circumstances, resulting in increased non-performing loans. The other highlight is the success of eThekwini Municipality’s (the City’s) SAICA training programme which we started about seven years ago as part of addressing capacity and succession challenges. Several of the qualified CAs(SA) now occupy management positions and we are seeing the fruits of the training programme in the form of an improvement in the quality of our financial reports.
What are your thoughts and ambitions for 2023?
As you are aware, the City suffered severely from the floods last year. I am hoping that in 2023 we will be able to raise more funds so that we can continue with the rehabilitation of our infrastructure in order to restore services − especially roads, water, and sanitation services − in our communities.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I continue to see myself in the public sector as I think we as professionals can add value and contribute significantly to improving the quality of life of our communities.
Cutting out corruption!
Key issues suggested by Sandile Mnguni to urgently improve procurement and minimise irregular expenditure includes:
- Improving transparency in procurement processes is critical to promote accountability and ensure access to information. Some metros are already running open tender processes, and this should be considered by other public sector entities.
- Digitalisation or automation of procurement processes is important to promote access to tenders and reduce direct interaction between people involved. It promotes competition and transparency. As an international trend, some of the big municipalities are piloting these various systems.
- Implementation of consequence management to deal with SCM breaches and some metros have financial misconduct committees enforcing consequence management.
- Appointment of qualified and experienced SCM officials to lead SCM activities and capacitate other officials in supporting service delivery.
- Ongoing review of SCM activities by various assurance providers to identify control weaknesses and recommend timely corrective action.