Twelfth Report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, dated 21 August 2002:
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts, having heard and considered evidence on the Report of the Auditor-General on the financial statements of the Legal Aid Board for the year ended 31 March 2001, and certain papers referred to it, reports as follows:
The Committee wishes to acknowledge the good work done by the Chief Executive Officer and his team in turning the Legal Aid Board (the Board) around from where it was two years ago.
The Chairperson, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Board gave evidence before the Committee on 15 May 2002 on unsatisfactory matters set out in the first column below.
In view of the evidence before the Committee that numerous recent developments at the Board have resulted in improvements not necessarily reflected in the latest audit report, the Committee recommends that the Board report to Parliament on a quarterly basis on progress made in respect of the areas listed below.
(a) Staff's skills level All financial management posts to be filled Ongoing
& capacity with competent personnel. "Upgrading" of
incumbent staff to take place as soon as possible.
Effective change management to address resistance
to new methods.
(b) Assessment of impact To determine whether systems have had the desired Quarterly
(success) of new impact as envisaged in the implementation plan
"vigorous" control (i.e. measurable progress).
systems
(c) Reliable management All information technology systems within the Board Monthly
information should produce accurate, reconcilable and reliable
management information on a monthly basis.
(d) Accounting controls Board to continue with its daily bank reconciliations. Daily
The accounts payable control account in the Monthly
general ledger to be reconciled on a monthly
basis with the accounts payable sub-ledger.
2. Contingent liability The settlement on amicable terms of all outstanding Ongoing
claims for legal services rendered on behalf of the
Board after taxing by the courts for fairness.
Backlog to be cleared.
3. Personnel expenditure The general administration of personnel Continuous
records and salary payments must be progress on
brought to an acceptable level. "baseline"
results as
The provision for leave pay reported on
must be verifiable. in the 2001-02
audit
Provision for bonuses must be made
if bonuses are envisaged.
4. Fixed assets Confirmation that all assets are recorded Quarterly
on the asset register per correct location, until
and that the existence of all fixed assets confirmed
can be determined.
5. Board effectiveness That effectiveness of the Board be ensured Quarterly
after the departure of the incumbent
Chairperson, and that any amendments to the
composition of the Board not create risks
during any possible transformational stages.
6. Former TBVC states To close this chapter of the Board's history Quarterly outstanding matters in order for the Board to concentrate on current
challenges, a written submission from the Board
to Parliament (SCOPA) needs to be made proposing
how to dispense with these matters.
7. Pension Fund To eliminate the uncertainty regarding the Quarterly
completeness of records and possible liability
by the Board, the Board must pursue the matter
with all relevant role-players until resolved.
The Committee has noted further assurances by the Board, which will be verified by the Auditor-General during the 2001-2002 audit, and which the Committee will monitor when dealing with the report on the said audit.