Pretoria - Women, Children and People with Disabilities Minister Lulu Xingwana has described the appointment of the first ever woman Deputy Auditor-General (AG) as a critical turning point in the country’s history.
AG Kimi Makwetu announced on Sunday that Tsakani Ratsela has been appointed as the new Deputy AG -- the first South African woman to be appointed to this executive leadership position.
Ratsela takes over from Makwetu, who replaced former AG Terence Nombembe in December last year.
Welcoming and congratulating Ratsela on her appointment, Minister Xingwana said she believed that Ratsela, who is to assume the chief executive role at the country’s supreme audit institution, will add further impetus to the AG South Africa’s work of monitoring the proper use and management of public money by state organs.
Speaking from New York, where she is leading a South African delegation at the 58th Session of the United Nations Convention on the Status of Women, Minister Xingwana said she has no doubt that Ratsela will rise to the occasion and help strengthen this key institution.
She said in the last 20 years, the country has seen South African women across all sectors of society taking advantage of the country’s progressive policies and laws which promote the advancement of women and gender equality.
“Women have raised their hands to say they are more than ready to make a meaningful contribution to building a better South Africa and therefore, we call on all institutions to fast track the empowerment of women towards the attainment of gender equality.
“The appointment of Ratsela, a chartered accountant, who brings with her a wealth of experience to the 103 year-old organisation, is a critical turning point in the history of the Auditor-General’s office since the establishment of this Chapter 9 institution in 1911.
“She follows the footsteps of other exemplary women who have made the country proud both domestically and internationally,” Minister Xingwana said. – SAnews.gov.za
