Pretoria - Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has noted the Auditor-General’s findings regarding the National Consumer Commission (NCC).
In a statement, Davies said that the qualification received by the NCC, which is an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (dti), was mainly due to historical reasons over which the current leadership has no control.
The AG’s findings on the NCC, amongst others, are that there was insufficient audit evidence for R15.6 million in irregular expenditure. There had also been fruitless and wasteful expenditure of R3.58 million. Approximately R1.5 million related to fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred in the 2011/12 financial year which was not previously disclosed.
The dti, together with the NCC, commissioned an “as is” audit by a private forensic company on the affairs of the commission. The findings of the AG are in line with the “as is” audit report, said the department.
Arising from the findings of the AG and the “as is” audit report, all on-going major contracts with service providers were amended and new service providers were engaged. Various systems have been put in place in order to enable due compliance with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and Treasury regulations.
Davies said that following the qualified report, the NCC has also improved its auditing.
“Internal audit function, which was non-existent has been outsourced, and regular Audit Committee meetings are now held. We have also various policies that were non-existent, [which] have been drafted and implemented.
“Internal processes in finance and Supply Chain Management have been revised and implemented, including debtor and creditor management, payments and asset management,” said Davies.
In May, Ebrahim Mohamed was appointed as the NCC commissioner.
Mohamed was placed in an acting capacity in August 2012 following the non-renewal of former Commissioner Mamodupi Mohlala-Molaudzi’s contract.
The NCC is charged with the responsibility of enforcing functions assigned to it in terms of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), which aims to establish national norms and standards relating to consumer protection, as well as provide for improved standards of consumer information, among others.
The NCC was formally launched in 2011. - SAnews.gov.za
