Auditor-General's report: Western Cape tops provincial audit results under DA leadership
The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the Auditor-General's presentation to parliament yesterday in which he revealed that the Western Cape was the best governed province in South Africa for the 2009/10 financial year. The province and all of its departments received unqualified audits, a feat unmatched by any other province. It also marked a significant improvement on previous provincial audits under the ANC's Western Cape administrations. The fact that the DA accomplished this in its first year of provincial leadership bears testimony to our dedication to clean financial management and efficient administration.
The Auditor-General singled out our efforts in the province, stating: "The most notable improvement in the audit outcomes of departments occurred in the Western Cape where seven departments and five public entities improved to financially unqualified with no findings on either predetermined objectives or compliance with laws and regulations." He further said that: "The province is the first whose financial statements of all of its departments and public entities are financially unqualified."
These are enormously significant achievements, and the people of the Western Cape will benefit because of them.
The Western Cape's financial probity has lead to robust and dependable infrastructure development. For instance, the province played a major role in ensuring that all provincial municipalities spent 100% of their Municipal Infrastructure Grants (MIGs), which focus infrastructure development in poor communities. Working with municipal leaders on a monthly basis (no matter their party affiliation), the province kept track of municipal MIG spending, providing support where needed.
However, we echo the concern noted by the A-G about the performance of certain departments in other provinces, especially education and health. Three provincial education departments received qualified audits and three more received disclaimers. Meanwhile, three provincial health departments received qualified audits and four more received disclaimers. We agree with the Auditor-General that this needs to change: far too many provinces are failing the health and education of their residents. The layoff of teachers in the Eastern Cape this week highlights precisely why poor administration and rampant misspending in provincial departments cannot continue to be tolerated.
We are pleased to note the slight improvement amongst national departments, but agree with the Auditor-General that much more could be done. The Auditor-General plans to institute a rolling procedure of quarterly audits, in which it works with departments and entities to get them in compliance by the time it conducts its annual financial audit. This is a superb idea. Some serial offenders with long histories of qualified audits - such as Correctional Services, Defence, Justice, Constitutional Affairs and Labour - would benefit a great deal from this continuous oversight.
Statement issued by James Lorimer MP, Democratic Alliance Shadow Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, January 20 2011
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