With Limpopo still to be accounted for, Eastern Cape provincial government departments are leading the field when it comes to poor accounting, according to figures released by the Auditor General (AG) on Friday.
Eleven of the province’s 12 departments received qualified audit reports for the 2006/7 financial year, and three of those 11 got an ”adverse” rating.
”Adverse” is the most damning verdict the AG can deliver on a set of accounts, meaning they are totally unreliable.
”Qualified” means that there are some problems with financial information.
AG Terence Nombembe told a media briefing at Parliament, ahead of a presentation to MPs, that his office was still working through the Limpopo accounts.
All three Limpopo departments audited had so far received qualified reports.
He said that overall, the number of provincial departments with unqualified reports — a clean bill of health — had risen from five in 2005/06 to ten in 2006/07.
The number of national government departments receiving a qualified report had remained the same — 11 of 34 ‒- over the two years, though the Department of Home Affairs still had to be finalised.
The number of unqualified national departments dropped from four to three — the Education Department, Public Enterprises and the Presidency.
None got adverse reports.
Nombembe said the biggest problem for both national and provincial departments that received qualified reports lay in accounting for capital assets.
So-called ”material misstatement” — which could be corrected on the advice of the auditors — and non-compliance with legislation were also major issues at both levels of government.
More than half of national departments, and about 75% of provincial departments, had made material misstatements.
Nombembe said that while the audit results were not a ”train smash”, there was a need for more support from and involvement by provincial treasuries, audit committees and legislators.
Legislators and members of the executive had to be empowered to monitor effectively and ask the right questions so that these issues were resolved before audits actually got under way.
”If you can do this right, the bulk of the issues will be dealt with,” he said. – Sapa