MEC Alan Winde: Western Cape 2012/13 audit outcomes
14 Oct 2013
I am pleased to announce that the Western Cape Government - the province that already manages public funds the best - has continued to improve financial governance amongst its departments and public entities. As a result, the Auditor-General of South Africa, the national finance watchdog, has issued us with unqualified audits in each and every department.
This year, five departments - Community Safety, Agriculture, Economic Development & Tourism, Cultural Affairs and Sport and Transport and Public Works - achieved clean audits (unqualified with no matters). This is an improvement on the four we achieved last year. Equally commendable are the eight departments of the Western Cape Government that achieved unqualified audits with findings. These are minor, technical issues that we will work hard to address in the year ahead.
The above results speak to the dedication of all the finance officials of the province to manage public funds in a manner which is above reproach. I would like to issue my thanks to these exceptional members of staff and my Cabinet colleagues for their hard work and leadership in achieving these excellent financial governance results.
I would like to make special mention of the Western Cape Department of Education, which improved from a qualified to an unqualified audit with other matters. This department followed through on the commitments they made last year, and their initiatives have paid great dividends in the audit results.
Of the 12 Western Cape Public Entities, eight received clean audits (unqualified with no findings). This is also an improvement on last year. A further two entities achieved unqualified audits with minor matters. In the year ahead, we will focus on addressing these technical matters.
Two entities - Cape Nature and the Housing Development Fund - received qualified audits. In respect of both entities, these outcomes were the result of technical issues which are already being addressed.
We are thrilled with the progress that we have made in improving financial governance in our province, a goal we strive for daily. The Western Cape Treasury has already analysed the current audit outcomes, and have devised a plan which will steer all our departments and entities toward even better financial governance. We are confident that our action plan for good financial governance, driven through the CGRO process, will make significant traction in the year ahead and bring us even closer to our vision of being the best-run regional government in the world.
Good financial governance is important for every person in our province. It is the measurement of how well government is using taxpayers' money. Better governance means better service delivery, and in the Western Cape, citizens get the best bang for their buck.
Despite these results, we know there are always areas for further improvement. We believe that every cent should be properly spent and that there is no room for corruption. That is why we have put systems in place which are being rolled out to manage this government's finances in a way that goes beyond conformance and towards performance.
We are proud to have retained our title as the province with the best financial management in the country. Achieving good financial governance across the board is our top priority.
Statement issued by Alan Winde, Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, October 15 2013
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