Letter to Parliament

To:
The Honourable Members of Parliament
Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
Portfolio Committee on Finance
Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration

Dear Honorable Members,

I write to you as a concerned citizen deeply committed to the principles of good governance, transparency, and accountability in our municipalities.

South Africa has invested significantly in ERP systems such as SAP, SOLAR ERP, and others to comply with the Municipal Standard Chart of Accounts (mSCOA) and improve financial management. These systems are capable of real-time reporting, audit trail logging, budget vs. expenditure tracking, and automated compliance alerts.
However, despite these capabilities, many municipalities fail to activate or utilize these features effectively. This results in persistent audit qualifications, irregular expenditure, and a lack of consequence management — undermining public trust and service delivery.

I respectfully petition Parliament and its oversight committees to:

- Mandate full activation of ERP functionalities across all municipalities.
- Enforce real-time dashboards for Treasury, municipal councils, and the public to monitor budget usage, compliance, and service delivery.
- Establish consequence management protocols for officials who fail to utilize these systems or ignore audit flags.
-Ensure public transparency by publishing audit trails, irregular expenditure alerts, and disciplinary outcomes.

This initiative will not only strengthen governance but also empower citizens to hold local government accountable through accessible, real-time data.

I thank you for your attention and urge you to act decisively in the interest of our democracy and development.

Yours sincerely,
Bulungisa