Cape Town - The DA-led Western Cape provincial government has scooped across-the-board unqualified audit opinions from the Auditor-General (AG), improving its year-on-year financial governance in its departments and public entities.
MEC of Finance, Ivan Meyer said the results reflect that the province had spent its budget for last year “very well”.
Highlighting that 12 of the 13 provincial departments received clean audit results for the period 2014/2015, Meyer punted the province as a “responsible custodian of public funds” and a “champion of good financial governance”.
“The percentage of departments which have received clean audits over the last three audit periods have increased from 36 percent in 2011-12 to 92 percent in the 2014-15 audit years while the quality of financial statements have improved from 95 percent to 100 percent during the same period,” he said.
Meyer said the health department was the only department that did not receive a clean audit, instead obtaining an unqualified audit opinion.
Head of governance and asset management at the Provincial Treasury, Aziz Hardien, explained that the AG was of the opinion that while the Department of Health’s financial position was sound, there was an issue with the reliability of the performance information that was reported, as the AG’s office was not in a position to verify it to his satisfaction.
Meyer pointed out that the AG’s office told them that the audit issues in the health department were so “minor” that it is possible for them to get a clean audit next year.
The MEC said the province’s ability to manage its finances well, was also reflected in the audit outcomes of its public entities, with Heritage Western Cape, Western Cape Nature Conservation Board, Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board, Western Cape Liquor Authority, Government Motor Transport, Western Cape Cultural Commission, Western Cape Language Committee all receiving clean audits, while Wesgro received an unqualified audit.
Meyer said the Housing Development Funds audit outcomes still had to be finalised.
Singling out the Western Cape Department of Education, Meyer said the provincial department is the first education department in the country to achieve a clean audit.
“We are making history in South Africa because for the first time since 1994 the provincial department of education received a clean audit… Given the fact that the education department normally spends a budget of between R15 and R16 billion, to get a clean audit is really a remarkable achievement,” he added.
Outlining the province’s top priority, to make the Western Cape an attractive investment destination, Meyer said the audit results would assist them in doing that.
“When anyone wants to invest, they want to know what type of government they are dealing with, and in this context the Western Cape has the best clean audit track record in South Africa,” he added.
Cape Argus