Pretoria - The Department of Labour has received an unqualified audit opinion for the third year in a row, the office of the Auditor-General told Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Labour.
The department’s Director-General, Nkosinathi Nhleko, on Thursday said they had made strides to deal with compliance issues and delivery matters. He said supply chain management concerns have also been reduced drastically.
“We have consistently made interventions like training and tightening controls in the financial management arena. However, some of our interventions… have not yielded results, but we are working hard to deal with such areas of concern,” Nhleko said.
The department and its public entities will this week present their 2012/13 annual reports for the period ending 31 March 2013 in Parliament.
The public entities include the Unemployment Insurance Fund, Compensation Fund, Sheltered Employment Factories, Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration, Productivity SA and the National Economic Development and Labour Council.
The Auditor-General’s office said sustained clean audit outcomes were not impossible to achieve. It however, expressed concern on the lack of monitoring and evaluation from leadership.
It further highlighted the lack of accountability and consequences when wrong doing was uncovered.
“The findings that we have raised are not new. We have also tabled recommendations and everybody is aware of. It is possible to achieve clean audit outcomes. We need to go back to the basics to achieve targets.
“We need to focus on the root cause of problematic areas. There is movement, but it is slow. There are quick fixes that can be achieved so as to enable the department to plan appropriately and achieve the much needed service delivery,” the Auditor-General said.
In terms of the performance by individual entities, the UIF once again had no material findings as it delivered yet another unqualified audit.
The Compensation Fund posted a disclaimer audit opinion with concerns raised by Auditor-General in areas such as insufficient information, no proper accounting journals of revenue and debtors and lack of compliance with supply chain management prescripts.
The Sheltered Employment Factories received a qualified audit opinion, with concerns raised on stock and finished goods management. The Auditor-General also expressed concern on non-compliance with supply chain management issues.
The CCMA also delivered an unqualified audit. It was cautioned to tighten its financial management and compliance with regulations.
Productivity SA also posted an unqualified opinion. The AG said the entity needs to strengthen compliance with laws and regulations.
Meanwhile, Nedlac received an unqualified audit opinion. It was also showered with praise on the strides it had made. However, it was noted that it needs to address performance objectives. – SAnews.gov.za
