Leaders must be held accountable for unsatisfactory audits
The Chairperson of the Standing Committee on the Auditor-General (AG), Ms Nthabiseng Khunou, has called for greater accountability for the decline in national and provincial audits. The chairperson was reacting to the Auditor-General’s announcement that departmental and public entity audit outcomes have regressed in the past financial year.
“It is unacceptable that instead of improving, 73 auditees regressed. While we welcome the 43 improved auditees we remain concerned that a greater bulk of auditees have shown a decline. It is also concerning that the root causes, according to the AG, is that those charged with governance are either slow to implement or totally disregard audit recommendations made by the AG,” Ms Khunou said.
The committee believes that consequence management against those that have disregarded the AG’s recommendations should be strengthened. Furthermore, the committee is convinced that the impunity shown by managers in misspending taxpayers resources cannot continue unabated, as it has a direct impact on service delivery.
Some of the main areas of concern for the committee are the serious weaknesses in the financial management of national and provincial government, which has not been addressed over the past four years; the over 200% increase in fruitless and wasteful expenditure from the previous year to R2,5 billion; and the ongoing deterioration in the financial health of auditees.
Also of major concern is the increasing litigation against the department, which diverts already scarce resources earmarked for service delivery towards servicing those claims.
The non-compliance with supply chain management (SCM) legislation, which led to an increase in irregular spending, must be curtailed. “While there might be justifiable reasons why in some cases the SCM framework cannot be followed, the committee attributes the increase in irregular spending to lack of proper planning and foresight, which leads to overspending. Senior managers must be held accountable for this lapse in planning,” Ms Khunou emphasised.
The committee is concerned by the finding that the financial health of provincial departments of health and education needs urgent intervention to prevent the collapse of these key service delivery departments. Education is a central pillar if South African is to achieve the growth projections necessary to create much-needed job opportunities for the majority of South Africans. The department of health is also important in ensuring an improved quality of life for South Africans.
The committee is hopeful that the implementation of the Public Audit Amendment Bill will act as a deterrent against disregarding the AG’s recommendations and will improve accountability. The committee emphasises its call that the office of the AG must move with speed to develop and implement regulations necessary to implement the Bill.
Enquiries:
Malatswa Molepo
Tel: 021 403 8438
Cell: 081 512 7920
E-mail: mmolepo@parliament.gov.za
