The Auditor-General has again granted the Mpumalanga Department of Education an unqualified audit opinion after it has conducted an extensive audit on the department’s finances and predetermined objectives.
For four years in succession the Mpumalanga Department of Education has received a clean bill of health from the Auditor-General with regards to financial, resource and performance management. The report by the Auditor-General confirms that the financial statements of the department fairly present its affairs in all material aspects. The opinion represents the fact that the department observed compliance with generally accepted accounting principles and statutory requirements.
This is an indication that the 2014 target to get a clean audit opinion is within reach. The department is pulling out all stops to make sure that it will achieve the target once again. All staff members were encouraged to treat each day as an audit day and manage the activities of the department in line with the legislation prescripts of the country.
On receipt of the report, the MEC for Mpumalanga Department of Education, Mrs Reginah Mhaule, appreciated the role played by the entire staff in ensuring that the control measures and financial management systems of the department are strengthened and in order.
The MEC said: “During the past four years all efforts were put in place towards turning around the department’s administrative processes and we will not rest until we receive a clean audit report. We remain positive that with the interventions that we initiated as a department we are going to achieve this goal.
We are responsible for ensuring that we fully account for the public finances. We have therefore done everything possible to put systems in place to identify and manage irregular expenditure and improve on our general administrative processes. Now we are more certain that a clean audit outcome is within reach”.
She further emphasised that the audit opinion is an indication that the financial report of the department is transparent and thorough and has not hidden important facts.
The MEC concluded by saying: “I wish to convey my sincere and heartfelt gratitude to all the employees of the Mpumalanga Department of Education for the dedication and hard work they have displayed in the past years. Let us all continue to be steadfast in the implementation of the policies of government and in that way we contribute towards building a better South Africa.”
Enquiries:
Jasper Zwane
Cell: 083 743 1804
E-mail: j.zwane@education.mpu.gov.za
