The Gauteng Department of Finance has noted with concern misleading media reports in today’s Mail & Guardian on the Gauteng Audit Services (GAS).
The Gauteng internal auditing services is a highly specialised function that is a catalyst for improving risk management, governance and control. The business unit employs highly qualified internal auditors who possess a complex set of deep technical skills and ethical framework. They are independent professionals and bring in a systematic, disciplined approach to improve the provincial government’s effectiveness in areas of risk management, internal control and governance processes.
In line with our zero-tolerance approach to non-compliance with rules and regulations, the department views the allegations of irregularities in the GAS business unit very seriously and has taken urgent steps to address the situation. In fact when these allegations were made and brought to the attention of Top Management, the Head of Department immediately launched an internal labour relations investigation conducted by an independent human resource specialist to determine the facts surrounding this matter.
On receipt of the report from the labour relations, the Head of Department communicated the results to both the complainants and the accused. He also accordingly informed the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, a public institution that is constitutionally mandated to exercise oversight on all organs of state. Therefore the suggestion as presented in the Mail & Guardian article that we have tried to sweep the “matter under the carpet is not correct because Legislature is a public platform, and all information available can be scrutinised by members of the public.
The findings of the labour relations investigation were specific and its recommendations practical on what was possible. The department has accordingly implemented all the recommendations of the report. We went further and made it mandatory that in addition to panel members and human resource personnel; a union representative must always be invited to the shortlisting and interviewing stages for all vacancies. Our view is that this enhances the transparency and fairness of recruitment processes in the department.
However the complainants were not satisfied with the outcome of the case and escalated the matter to the MEC. After careful consideration, MEC decided not to review these appointments because the department had implemented all the recommendations of the labour relations investigation. He further noted the additional measures taken by the department working together with labour to enhance transparency and fairness in the recruitment processes of the department. These are continuously monitored to ensure continued implementation.
The complainants were still not happy with the outcome of the appeal and subsequently approached the Office of the Premier. After taking all relevant facts into consideration, OOP concurred with the determination made by the MEC on this matter.
After this outcome, the complainants reported the department’s Chief Audit Officer, Ms Zoliswa Ntombela on the same issue to the Institute of Internal Auditors. The department is still waiting for the outcome of this enquiry. The complainants have also reported the matter to the Public Service Commission and the findings of that investigation are still pending.
The Gauteng Department of Finance is a specialised department charged with implementing the hybrid model of shared services in the provincial government. Therefore we employ highly skilled professionals who are charged with implementing our mandate on specific areas of IT, finance, auditing and procurement.
It is on that basis that we have implemented all the recommendations of the internal labour relations investigation, further strengthened our recruitment processes and continue to cooperate with the ongoing investigations on this matter as detailed above. Therefore the suggestions made by Mail & Guardian on our recruitment processes have no basis in fact.
Through the work of the Gauteng Audit Services, the provincial government has tightened its internal controls, drastically reduced adverse findings from the Office of the Auditor-General, generally improved the audit outcomes of the province, including increasing the number of clean audit opinions achieved to a total of 8 in the 2012/13 financial year.
The MEC continue to act swiftly on any breaches of procedure in the department whenever these are identified. We have ensured consequent management in this regard by taking the necessary disciplinary actions against those who violated the rules and regulations of government. The MEC is committed to the fight against fraud and corruption, and is always focused on service delivery issues to protect the resources and image of government. Our actions in this regard are a case in point.
Enquiries:
John Sukazi, MEC Spokesperson
Cell: 083 772 4885
E-mail: john.sukazi@gauteng.gov.za
