In pursuit of clean audits, Parliament’s Standing Committee on the Auditor-General has acknowledged that all relevant stakeholders need to play their respective parts effectively.
This follows the Auditor-General’s report on the outcomes of audits of the country’s municipalities, which showed that a lot needs to be done to ensure municipalities achieve clean audits. According to the Auditor-General, Mr Terence Nombembe, of the 237 municipalities audited, only seven received clean audits.
“This is mainly because there has not been compliance with supply chain management processes, resulting in irregular and unauthorised expenditure of about R9 billion,” Mr Nombembe said.
He said flouting these processes had a direct impact on the quality of service communities received: “If you appoint a service provider without due process, chances are that the service will be flawed.”
Other concerns related to municipalities relying on consultants, with 80% of municipalities still relying on consultants.
“This is not a picture that one wants to see, especially after 17 years of democracy. As oversight bodies, we really need to combine our efforts in order to see a marked improvement in the manner in which municipalities conduct their business,” said the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on the Auditor-General, Adv Tshililo Michael Masutha.
He said a number of role players had to play their part for municipalities to get clean audits. The committee will engage with other parliamentary oversight bodies in an attempt to come up with a strategy to help municipalities improve.
Enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact:
Temba Gubula
Tel: 021 403 8307
Fax: 021 403 3931
Cell: 078 735 8809
E-mail: tgubula@parliament.gov.za
Source: Parliament of South Africa
Joint approach mooted for clean audits
