Earlier today, the Commission for Gender Equality appeared before Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) as a continuation of the hearing into the CGE's annual reports for 2007/08 and 2008/09.
The CGE is pleased to inform the public that the hearing clarified a number of issues that were raised in the media over the past few weeks. The CGE has welcomed the opportunity to account to Parliament regarding its spending of public money and to present its turnaround strategy.
Though SCOPA members were rightfully justified in their critique of the CGE and tough on the matters raised by the Auditor-General, the CGE in general supports the line of arguments pursued by the members. It will certainly assist the CGE in its way forward.
We are also happy to confirm that the Chairperson of SCOPA, Mr Themba Godi and members, has again reiterated that the CGE is an independent constitutional institution, which cannot be placed under curatorship. Moreover, he has repeated his commitment to affirming the constitutional mandate of the CGE and members expressed confidence in commissioners and staff to turn the organisation around.
An orchestrated media attack on the integrity of the CGE started with the former chairperson making various allegations about the CGE. This was followed by various others including the one on 9 April 2010 in the Mail and Guardian. In this Four Rivers called for the closure of the CGE, in the guise of a proposal for curatorship.
We found it bizarre that a service provider, Four Rivers, led such a serious charge against their client, the CGE. Whilst it was unprecedented it was not unexpected since their contract with the CGE is under investigation by the Auditor-General.
The reports from the Auditor-General raise a plethora of challenges, weaknesses and breakdown of internal controls and lack of appropriate compliance with the legislative prescripts most notably that of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and the Treasury regulations.
Furthermore, we acknowledge that this state of affairs relates to poor corporate governance, lack of effective leadership and oversight failures. The CGE has since the departure of the former chairperson being presented with an opportunity to deal with these matters in an open, transparent and dedicated manner. A turnaround strategy is in place and under the leadership of the Acting Chairperson, Commissioner Shozi.
Commissioners have established sound and collegial working relationship between themselves and with senior management. The CGE is committed to ensure that the various allegations will be brought to closure through proper legal and other disciplinary processes emanating from the Auditor-General's forensic audit and the findings from the report of the Office of the Public Protector.
We invite any oversight structure and the public to engage the CGE and visit its offices to confirm that we work towards our mandate of a non-sexist and non-racist society. This, we are now doing in a transparent and efficient manner with due respect for tax payers money.
Issued by: Commission for Gender Equality
7 May 2010
