Staff Writer
GAUTENG and the Western Cape came out top of the list when Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu released the 2014/2015 consolidated audit outcomes for government departments and entities.
The Western Cape’s total adjusted budget was R49 billion for 2014/2015, and this figure did not include public entities, with a staff cost of R26bn taking up the bulk of the budget. Makwetu in his statement said 20 out of 24 government entities which had been audited had achieved clean audit outcomes compared to 18 out of 23 in 2013/2014.
“Two departments and one entity improved to clean audit outcomes; 10 departments and seven entities maintained a clean audit outcome, and only one newly formed entity attained a clean audit outcome,” said Makwetu.
He said improvements in audit outcomes were due to continued commitment by top leadership, along with a proactive approach followed by accounting officers, accounting authorities and senior management, to instil a culture of good financial management and governance.
One blight on the Western Cape’s audit results was the province’s Housing Development Fund which regressed to a qualified opinion due to errors in financial information on assets.
“The leadership should embark on a clean-up process of the asset register to ensure that all properties included in the register belong to the entity,” was the recommended course of action from the auditor-general.
In the Western Cape irregular expenditure decreased by 52 percent, especially when it came to procurement.
For 2014/2015, irregular expenditure amounted to R79 million, with R57m of that related to non-compliance when it came to ensuring procurement processes were competitive and fair.
Gauteng maintained its results from the 2013/2014 financial year with 16 out of 19 entities, including government departments, maintaining clean audits. According to the auditor-general, strict cost containment and budget monitoring activities at departments contributed to the fact that there was no unauthorised expenditure in 2014/2015.
“Senior management, political leadership and oversight structures should continue to pay close attention to the prevalence of irregular expenditure and supply chain management transgression,” was the advice from Makwetu.
He also pointed out that there was a slight transgression in the financial health of entities because of an inability to manage their debtors books to collect monies which were due to them.
This placed pressure on their ability to pay creditors.