Seven Gauteng departments receive clean audits

Seven out of fourteen Gauteng Provincial Government departments have received clean audits in the 2023/24 financial year while the departments that received an unqualified audit opinion with findings were found to have failed to comply with supply chain regulations.

These include the Gauteng Department of Housing, Social Development, Sports Arts and Culture as well as Health.

Gauteng Finance MEC Lebogang Mailie says his department is seeking to strengthen internal controls and consequence management at various departments.

7 out of 14 departments received clean audits for 2023/24 financial year

Maile stresses that while 5 departments received not-so-clean audit opinions, the Gauteng Health Department’s poor audit findings left him gravely concerned.

Health was the only department with non-compliance across all areas including grant, procurement, and asset management. Closer attention would be paid to the health department following a series of mishaps this year.

“We have firstly we want to make sure that improve efficiencies in health. We are going to be working with them too to make sure that we get value for money for every service that we provide there are instances where we find that we pay more as government compared to the private sector, so we firstly want to make sure that they are efficiencies and get value for money,” says Maile.

The audit outcomes of 19 entities which are subsidiaries of the Gauteng government including the Gautrain also produced a mixed bag.

“The department that received and qualified audit opinions with findings material non-compliance with supply chain management legislation and expenditure with the main challenge this increases instances of irregular expenditure which has an adverse effect on the department financial health. Furthermore, other departments with unqualified audit opinions such as the Department of Health Social Development, human settlements, rodent transport, and sports and recreation have a challenge with consequence management indicating that recommendations from the completed investigations have not been implemented. From the completed investigations have not been implemented in addition to this material statements in the annual financial statements an issue in the age of the provincial department,” Maile explains.

Several punitive measures will be put in place to ensure consequence management for wrongdoers.