Madam Chair, Scopa is very similar to a rowing team. Why do I say this? Rowing is the only sport where you make progress by going backwards. Now in Scopa too we are going forward by looking backwards. Therefore I want to look at where Scopa is today, and do so by looking back to where it was two years ago.
In January 2005 when I became a member of Scopa I had heard so many stories from colleagues, and I had seen so many newspaper articles and news clips on TV about Scopa and how bad it was, that one could feel the tension when I walked into that committee room. One could almost touch the distrust and the suspicion.
Much of this came from the arms deal scandal that almost tore Scopa apart. The controversy resulted in the unfortunate replacement of a Scopa chairperson and many experienced members, and also resulted in a loss of institutional memory. Scopa was not functioning optimally and not holding the executive to account properly. But Scopa members realised their huge responsibility, and they started working.
When the previous NNP Scopa chairperson resigned and a new one had to be elected it became controversial once again. The spectre of possible turbulence in Scopa was raised, but we followed the democratic practice in Commonwealth countries that an opposition member becomes the Scopa chairperson. The new chairperson soon showed that he was committed to the call and responsibility of Scopa.
He started steering the team efficiently through the turbulent waters. A big breakthrough happened with the hearing on the controversial Imvume management in the PetroSA deal. Scopa grilled PetroSA, and unanimously adopted a strongly worded resolution, which was very critical of the Imvume management transaction. Scopa showed that it was taking its watchdog job of protecting the public purse and rooting out corruption seriously. Other hearings followed where erring departments were grilled and serial offenders were identified. Departments and entities with failing financial management were becoming aware that they would be called to account, and that they would be subjected to vigorous questioning.
People started noticing, the media took note, and Scopa started making headlines for the right reasons. The Director-General of the Treasury told Scopa members that Scopa put fear into the hearts of those who appear before it. These were sweet words to the Scopa members. Today Scopa is, once again, a strong and healthy committee. It takes seriously its responsibility of protecting the public purse. I am proud to be a member of Scopa.
However, this does not mean that there are no problems. There are indeed many challenges ahead. Of particular concern is the late submission of financial information to the Auditor-General. By August this year the Auditor-General had not received the annual reports of 19 departments, and that is 56% of all departments. This is causing a delay in the work of the AG, but more serious is that when unlawful behaviour like this takes place at government level the question is: What kind of message is government sending to ordinary citizens? Is it acceptable to break the law?
A second area of concern is that there has been a significant increase in the number of departments that receive qualified audit reports. In the previous financial year there were only seven departments with qualified audit reports, but there are 11 of them now. This is 32% of the total, which is a third of all government departments. It is of serious concern that financial mismanagement of state departments is increasing.
A third concern is the fact that the same erring departments receive negative audit opinions year after year, showing no improvement whatsoever. The worst serial offenders are Correctional Services, Defence and Health, with Home Affairs having now received negative audit reports six years in a row. These departments are facing serious financial mismanagement challenges. Why are they not learning? Why are they not improving on previous bad experiences? The AG tells us that the reason for this sorry state of affairs is that accounting officers are simply not implementing basic elements of financial management.
Who are the political bosses of these departments? They are the Ministers Lekota, Balfour, Nqakula, and Tshabalala-Msimang. It is time that the executive took responsibility for the performance of their departments. Thank you. [Applause.]