North West Premier, Kagiso Lazarus Mokgosi has welcomed the 2024/25 audit outcomes which have demonstrated consistent and improved performance for provincial departments.
Speaking at an engagement session with the Auditor General Ms Tsakani Maluleke, Speaker of the North West Provincial Legislature, Dr Desbo Mohono, Deputy Speaker Mr Collen Maine as well Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Mr Smuts Matshe, Premier Mokgosi maintained the performance mirrors government's ongoing efforts of building a capable, ethical, and developmental State as per the dictates of Priority 3 of the Medium Term Development Plan (2024–2029).
In the latest audit cycle which ended on 31 March 2025 a total of eight (8) out of twelve (12) departments received unqualified audit reports with the Provincial Treasury and the Department of Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation receiving clean audits. Only the Department of Education and Health received qualified audit outcomes, with the latter falling short of an unqualified audit opinion as compared to the previous financial year.
Premier Mokgosi says government is duty bound to ensure that public coffers are spent wisely. He insists Section 195 of the Constitution impresses upon public servants to promote and maintain high standards of professional ethics.
“We must at all material times demonstrate and maintain high ethical standards, efficient resource use, accountability, transparency, and responsiveness to the needs of our people, particularly the poor and downtrodden,” said Premier Mokgosi.
The regression of the Department of Health from unqualified to qualified audit opinion and the failure by the Department of Education to improve to unqualified outcome for two consecutive financial years compels government to double its efforts in ensuring that the two departments get out of the woods.
“These are the two important departments with the lion’s share of the provincial budget with the constitutional mandate of ensuring that our people receive uninterrupted provision of services in our hospitals, community health care centers, primary and secondary schools. So new techniques will be implored in enhancing accountability and transparency to ensure that they improve their audit outcomes,” maintained Premier Mokgosi.
Preceding the past two financial years, the province recorded five (5) qualified audit outcomes prompting the provincial government to increase its support which encapsulated a comprehensive financial oversight and accountability plan. Premier Mokgosi says these efforts are now coming to fruition.
“We are particularly encouraged by the two clean audit outcomes and we believe that audits of a similar kind are on the horizon in other departments which just fell short of a clean audit outcome. Our intervention measures will now include paying a more detailed attention to State Owned Institutions to build public trust, enhance service delivery and improve the lives of the people of the North West,” concluded Premier Mokgosi.
Enquiries:
Sello Tatai
Spokesperson to the Premier
North West Provincial Government
Cell: 064 756 2510 / 082 450 7842
E-mail: SITatai@nwpg.gov.za
Brian Setswambung
Provincial Head of Communication
Office of the Premier
North West Provincial Government
Cell: 076 012 4501
E-mail: BSetswambung@nwpg.gov.za
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