Chairperson, comrades and hon members, it is always with a sense of pride that I come to this podium to present, on behalf of Scopa, reports which are a product of commitment and dedication to the highest interest of our people. We are here to deliver on our mandate as Scopa to, on behalf of this House, exercise oversight on the financials of national departments and public entities.
We are presenting before this House the Eighty-Fifth to the One-Hundred-and- Forty-Third reports; that is, 58 reports. All of them are what we call "Category C" reports. These are reports whose financial audit outcomes are unqualified and have unsubstantive or no matters of emphasis.
These entities are living proof that it is possible to adhere fully to the letter and spirit of the Public Finance Management Act. For this, we thank and congratulate them, and we hope that their future audits will be equally clean. These reports are good examples that serial offending departments and entities can emulate.
What is worth noting is that among these reports are a number of sector education and training authorities. A lot has been said in the past about the administration and management, effectiveness and viability of Setas. While we cannot reflect on the effectiveness of the Setas that are here, we can, however, all attest to their sound financial management, which Scopa believes is the foundation for everything else. Certainly, there can be no timeous and qualitative service delivery without sound financial management.
Whilst we accept that there are Setas that are struggling to properly fulfil their mandate, we believe that these ones are a glimmer of hope that with sufficient will and hard work things can be turned around. We are referring here to the Bank Seta, Chemical Industry Seta, Clothing and Textile Seta, Forestry Industry Seta, Education, Training and Development Seta, the Financial Services Seta, and the Food and Beverage Seta.
On behalf of Scopa, we want to commend these reports to the House. We also want to thank the programming Whips for finding sufficient space for us to present these reports.
The debate on these reports helps us to rally together and mobilise everyone in the fight against mismanagement, maladministration and waste of public resources. It also helps us to bring to the fore the important work that Scopa does. These debates help Scopa to lay bare the indisputable connection between quality and timeous service delivery on the one hand and sound financial management and administration on the other. They help us spread our call for a heightened sense of vigilance and intolerance against corruption and mediocrity. These debates go a long way in strengthening Scopa's hand as the defender of the public purse.
As we present these reports and as the House rises for recess, I want to pay a special tribute to my colleagues and comrades in the committee as well as the staff and the Auditor-General's Office for their hard work and close scrutiny of issues. The sense of purpose and focus in the committee is both commendable and refreshing. With a united and focused Scopa there will be no hiding place for those who do not comply with the laws we pass in this House or National Treasury regulations.
Today, I personally wish to appreciate the opportunity I have had so far to chair this important committee. Twelve months ago, immediately in my first presentation of Scopa reports I gave an assurance that the trust shown in me would not be in vain; and that I took this responsibility with open eyes and that it was a responsibility I would discharge with neither fear nor favour, sparing neither courage nor effort in the service of our people - these being values bequeathed to us in the liberation movement.
Looking back we can say without fear of contradiction that we have lived up to these aforesaid utterances. We said then, as we say now, that corruption is about greed and not poverty. It is the well connected and well off, and not the poor who are the motive force of corruption. It is about a clique of the ideologically corrupted up against the people. It is completely inimical, in sharp pointed contradiction with the ethos and values of the liberation movement; it is against evolutional morality.
As Scopa, we appreciate the support that this House has given us, right across party-political and ideological divides, in the processing of our reports. It is this kind of support that gives us the impetus to keep on keeping on with our work.
The struggle against a lack of respect for laws, policies, regulations, and procedures in public finance management must be fought and won. It is a patriotic duty and it is politically imperative.
Before I leave, I think the last word must surely go to that Vietnamese Revolutionary, Uncle Ho Chi Minh. In discussing matters of this nature he said, and I quote - very liberally:
Embezzlement and waste stem from bureaucracy, from the fact that leading individuals or organs at all levels fail to get down to brass tacks, to supervise and educate ... They pay undue attention to form and fail to tackle the jobs in detail and in depth. They only like to convene meetings, write instructions and read reports, but control nothing thoroughly.
He further exhorts us thus:
Embezzlement, waste and bureaucracy are enemies of the people, the army and government. To oppose embezzlement, waste and bureaucracy are revolutionary acts. To oppose embezzlement, waste and bureaucracy is democracy.
I thank you. [Applause.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Hon Van der Merwe, why are you pointing your fingers like somebody who always wears a hat?