The proposed amendments to the Public Audit Act will make his office a more active and robust agent in cleaning up the finances of government departments and entities, says Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu.
Delivering a lecture at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business on Thursday, Makwetu said unless a change of culture took hold at audited state entities, there was little chance of any meaningful improvement.
While the office of the auditor-general has lifted the lid on procurement guidelines, derelictions and financial mismanagement, members of Parliament believe the office lacks the teeth to have its recommendations enforced.
Since last year Makwetu’s office has been working with Parliament’s standing committee on the auditor-general to amend the Public Audit Act to remedy continuous violations.
Makwetu said Parliament was at an advanced stage of this process and that draft amendments would soon be released to members of Parliament and the general public.
"We’ve gone to Parliament after releasing our 2016 audit report. Parliament said multiple years of bad audits are unsustainable. We suggested reassessing the powers of the auditor-general. The standing committee is looking at proposed amendments that we hope will emerge in the National Assembly," Makwetu said.
"The amended act will be looking at allowing the auditor-general’s office to refer continuing expenditure anomalies to independent bodies for investigation. Another aspect is to raise a debt in the books of government on the person who is found responsible for an auditee’s wayward conduct," the auditor-general said.
magubanek@businesslive.co.za
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