Programme Director
Chief Director, Local Government, Mrs Mapatane Kgomo
Provincial Representatives – LGSETA-NW, Ricky Ngwenya
Regional Representative LGSETA-NW, Ntombenhle Nkosi
Business Development Manager – Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT-SA), Natalie Zimmelman
Project Manager – Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT-SA), Ms Harriet Amoda
Members of SALGA
Esteemed delegates
Officials
Ladies and gentlemen
It is not every day that one gets invited to a graduation ceremony and if one finally get invited, it is not often get afforded an opportunity to make an address. Therefore I was very humbled by the invitation.
This has to be one very special occasion for all of us in government especially those of us who are at the helm of creating a sustainable and responsive local government, as we witness men and women who we expect that with the knowledge and skills they have acquired during the training, will join hands and heads together in turning around the situation at our municipalities.
The fact is that financial management is but one of the most strategic vehicle/component in any organisation or institution. No institution can function to its optimum level if its finances are not in good order. This we have seen in some of our municipalities which have failed to fully discharge their constitutional mandate of providing basic services to various communities.
Our continuous assessment of the state of affairs at municipalities depicts a very bad picture, in as far as the availability of both technical and financial skills are concerned. We still have municipalities whose finance are run by personnel or managers who do not have the necessary financial qualifications. As a result, these types of municipalities find it difficult to compile their financial statement, as these often result in late or even non submission of these documents to relevant authorities, e.g. Auditor General.
Programme Director, we still have a long way to go in order to get the finances of our municipalities in order. The Auditor-General’s report for 2010/2011 revealed 27 % of our municipalities received financially qualified opinion with findings, 27% received qualified opinion and 45 % received disclaimer of adverse opinions. We will therefore continue with our programme as government, both national and provincial of offering our support to municipalities, be it human or capital.
Our efforts to continue partnering with funding institutions such as the Local Government Sector Education & Training Authority (LGSETA) continues. It is our wish this programme can further be rolled to all institutions that are involved in matters of local government.
It is therefore pleasing that the private sector has been able to come on board as strategic partners to turn a corner. A programme like this will go a long way in creating the much needed institutional capacity in our municipalities.
To our strategic partners, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), it through this is the type of an initiative combined with our efforts that will make us realise our objective of achieving clean audit in all government institution by 2014.
To our graduates, your efforts, dedication, commitment, sacrifice and hard work, are all paying dividends. Congratulations to all of you. We will rely on your knowledge and skills acquired during the training, to turn the tide.
Ke a leboga
I thank you
Baie dankie!
