Hon House Chairperson and fellow South Africans, it is always a pleasure to serve my party and to work for South Africa as a
whole. Therefore, being my last declaration in the Fifth Parliament, please allow me some space, Chairperson. Hon South Africans, the office of the Auditor-General of South Africa has a long and proud history - chairperson, please. It has served this country with distinction through different administrations. The main reason why the AG's office has been so successful, it is because it has always maintained its independence.
The Democratic Alliance is opposed to this Bill because it places the Auditor-General in a more favourable position than any other auditor out in the market place. It is our position that the Auditor-General should be required to collect its fees in the same manner as any other auditor. In addition, the fact that the Auditor-General will be able to recover fees from a third party, who is also its main client, would then create a potential conflict of interests and create ideal conditions for manipulation as well as undue influence.
The Auditor-General, I repeat Chairperson, the Auditor-General is a Chapter 9 institution that has traditionally been self-funded through the levy of audit fees in respect of its services. The Bill, of course, attempts to altar the status quo with the result that the Auditor- General's office will now, to an extent, be funded directly from the national fiscus. At present, any unpaid fees are reflected by the AG as
an asset on its balance sheet, for those who ... [Inaudible.] ... might understand, which makes up then most of the report at surplus.
This is a very bad idea indeed and should be rejected out of hand by all members of this Council. The reason I say so is that if we pass this Bill, it will mean that the Auditor-General will have no responsibility to collect its own funds in difficult circumstances. What the AG's office fails then to collect will now be paid in preference to and at the collective expense of every other governmental department.
In conclusion, I will urge my colleagues here to all reject this Bill as it has then assist the AG to maintain his office's independence compete fairly in the market and then the Auditor-General's office is, of course, responsible for the collection of his own fees, just as every other professional in South Africa is then required to do. Therefore, the Democratic Alliance cannot support this Bill. I thank you, Chair. [Applause.]