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KZN Parliament Failing Oversight
November 29, 2006
The IFP fears that the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Parliament is
failing to play its oversight role. The single most troublesome
handful for the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) in
the life of the current Parliament has been the Department of
Agriculture and Environmental Affairs.
“The two budget disclaimers from the Auditor General in as many
consecutive years have resulted in incomplete audit and,
consequently, have given Parliament almost nothing to apply its
oversight role onto,” said Sipho Mbatha MPP in response to the
report from the Chair of SCOPA
Even with two disclaimers, a well-known and documented
over-expenditure on unfunded projects and against the grain of a
number of SCOPA resolutions, the Department proceeded with this
trend during the current financial year.
“Over-expenditure on salaries and unfunded projects, irregular
procurement, irregular agreements and contracts entered into
without funding and irregular appointment of staff – all this
has carried on unabatedly,” said Mbatha.
The interesting part to the IFP is, of course, that this has
been happening without Parliament knowing for more than two
years. “We all want to know how this was possible. It is now
clear that the Accounting Officer deliberately misled
Parliament. He even made statements under oath during SCOPA
meetings which were false,” said Mbatha.
It is abundantly clear to the IFP that the Public Finance
Management Act (PFMA) and the Public Service Act (PSA) have been
seriously breached on many occasions by the Accounting Officer
and his Department. “Many of the transgressions and
irregularities have been documented in the Auditor General’s
reports but these may well be just a hint of what has been
perpetrated,” said Mbatha.
The IFP believes that Parliament has the responsibility to see
to it that the citizens of KwaZulu-Natal receive the best value
for their tax rands within the prescripts of the applicable
legislation and regulations. “We are bound by laws and
regulations and we must act wherever they are transgressed. They
have been blatantly transgressed in the Department of
Agriculture. Let us act,” said Mbatha.
Contact:
Sipho Mbatha
082 971 5849
or S’bu Ngid
082 966 7745 |
