Eighth Report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, dated 26 June 2002:
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts, having considered the Report of the Auditor-General on the financial statements of Vote 31 - Statistics South Africa for the year ended 31 March 2001 [RP103-01], reports as follows:
After considering the Report of the Auditor-General, the Committee took note of the steps taken by the Accounting Officer and the staff to fulfil their obligations in terms of the PFMA concerning financial management at the Department. The Committee resolved not to have a hearing on the report for the year under review, but to await the Auditor-General's Report on the next financial year.
Having noted the above, however, the Committee wishes to bring the following to the attention of the Accounting Officer:
1. Audit opinion
The Committee commends the Accounting Officer and staff of the Department for the Auditor-General's unqualified audit opinion on both the financial and compliance audits, and trusts that future audit opinions will be equally unqualified.
2. Internal control
Certain shortcomings in the internal control were reported in previous years. Although the Accounting Officer took corrective steps, some matters remained unresolved, and further shortcomings related to internal control became evident during the 2000-01 financial year. The Accounting Officer is reminded that internal control forms one of the main pillars of effective financial management in any organisation, and therefore the Committee cannot over-emphasise its importance.
The Committee therefore recommends that the Accounting officer take appropriate corrective steps to prevent a recurrence of the reported shortcomings, and report back to the Committee by 30 August 2002 on the steps taken in terms of section 38(1)(a)(i) of the PFMA.
3. Re-employment of former employees
The Committee took notice of, and expressed its concern at, the fact that employees who have taken severance packages are being re-employed as contract workers by the Department, and that the Department is therefore not adhering to Public Service Regulations. The Committee recommends that the Accounting Officer furnish the Committee with a report by 30 August 2002 on all the cases and also on steps taken to rectify the matter.
The Committee further also awaits the Auditor-General's Report on the next financial year before making further recommendations to the House in this regard.