The outcome of government departments’ annual financial reports paints a bleak picture, Auditor General Terence Nombembe told the Johannesburg Press Club on Thursday.
In the 2005/06 report, only 12% of government departments have clean audit opinions. This figure shrinks to 4% at provincial level, and there is no clean audit opinion in local government so far.
”These trends have an impact of diminishing confidence the public has in the administration of accounts,” Nombembe said, attributed these outcomes to a shortage of skills, lack of ability in business processes and leadership, and poor governance.
He said strong coordination in government clusters is needed to solve the problem. The National Treasury can play a strong role in ensuring financial accountability. With this in place, Nombembe said the focus will be on what business can provide.
”There would be better focus on the coordination of skills development … There needs to be some coordination to make sure that these skills are developed.”
He said skills development is essential to ensure stability of business processes. ”We need to train people to do the job to make sure that even if individuals come and go, work gets done properly.”
He said departments cannot afford to have incompetent people acting in top positions.
Although there are problems, there is no need to lose hope as causes have been identified.
”It comes across as a bleak picture, but the issues that need to be attended to have been identified and we have solutions. So there is no reason to lose hope,” he said afterwards.
Asked during his address if the outcomes of the reports, especially in local government, are not due to poor technology systems in those areas, Nombembe said the Treasury and the Department of Public Service and Administration are working on improving the systems.
His office is looking forward to an active and continuing engagement with the media, who have a pivotal role to play in assisting his office in transmitting a message to the public, he said.
Nombembe replaced Shauket Fakie, who retired in November last year. Before his appointment, he was Fakie’s deputy for more than five years. — Sapa