DA debates 2016/17 Gauteng SACR Annual & SCOPA Report

The following speeches were delivered in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature today by DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation (SACR), Paul Willemburg MPL and DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) Dr Heinrich Volmink MPL, during a debate on the 2016/17 Annual Report of the Gauteng Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation (SACR) Department and SCOPA’s Report.

 

Speech by
Paul Willemburg MPL

“Department lacks leadership and political-will to manage finances better ”

  • Material misstatements were only corrected by the Department after the errors had been pointed out to them by the AG. Had this not occurred, they would have received a different audit opinion, possibly a qualification;
    • Action plans developed were not effectively implemented and monitored. This is often the case with SACR – great on paper, but poor on implementation;
    • It is quite obvious that the measures and systems the Department supposedly put in place in reply to SCOPA resolutions on Expenditure has not worked or what was promised, was not fully implemented by management; and
    • Weakness in leadership, financial and performance management and governance remains a finding even though measures had been allegedly put in place after the last financial year.

The full speech can be obtained here.

 

Speech by
Dr Heinrich Volmink MPL

“Serious action must be taken for supply chain mismanagement”

  • This department has an important role to play both in terms of developing the economy and fostering social cohesion in Gauteng, as described in its vision;
    • Firstly, it is disconcerting that irregular expenditure in the Department ballooned and that a major reason for this was a failure in Supply Chain Management processes;
    • Year after year issues of supply chain management are identified, and year after year we are presented with interventions that simply don’t seem to work; and
    • We will be scrutinizing the quarterly reports that SCOPA has requested on the implementation of measures to prevent irregular expenditure and will be carefully monitoring the Department’s steps, or missteps, in ensuring consequence management.

The full speech can be obtained here.