Hon Chairperson, Minister, Deputy Minister and the leadership of the judiciary, I have been ordered by the ANC to come and support this budget. This is what I'm doing now. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
We remember that on 16 December 1943, the ANC, in a landmark document titled Africans' Claims, demanded the granting of full citizenship rights to the African people in South Africa and the abolition of all discrimination based on race.
Today, 18 years into democracy, access to justice is still a nightmare for rural women. It is the privilege of the rich, the learned and the historically empowered. Rural women are crying for access to justice in their own land. Listen to the voices of patriotic South Africans, not to backseat drivers.
Gee vet en hou die stuurwiel vas. [Step on it and hold onto the steering wheel.]
You are going in the right direction. You don't have to watch your back because there are enough rural women to support you. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
Today we are talking about money, and I will address my speech to the director-general specifically. I will give you, DG, some sisterly advice, so that you can reach the promised land of clean audits that you want to reach. I will give you a road map that you should follow.
Firstly, you have to provide effective leadership based on a culture of honesty, ethical business practice and good governance. Protect and enhance the best interests of the department and all Chapter 9 institutions and entities under the department.
Secondly, employ a qualified accountant for the position of chief financial officer. Accounting is a science. It's not something that a person can learn in a workshop. [Laughter.] It does not end there. Exercise your oversight responsibility over the work of the CFO, with regard to financial and performance reporting and compliance with related legislation.
Thirdly, implement effective human resource management, to ensure that each section has adequate and sufficiently skilled people, that they are working and that their performance is monitored constantly.
Fourthly, establish and communicate policies and procedures to enable and support the understanding and execution of internal control objectives, processes and responsibilities.
Fifthly, develop and monitor the implementation of action plans to address internal control deficiencies.
Lastly, establish an information technology governance framework that supports and enables the department to deliver value for money and improve performance.
The following message is for the CFO: Firstly, implement proper record keeping and report on time, in a manner that ensures that complete, relevant and accurate information is accessible and available to support financial statements and performance reporting.
Secondly, implement controls over daily - I repeat daily - and monthly processing and reconciling of transactions. Let me use the example that the Auditor-General usually gives. At Checkers and Pick n Pay, the cashier does not leave work before she reconciles. I think we should adopt that attitude in government. People should not leave work to stand over for the next day. The problem with financial records is that once they pile up, one will never reconcile them.
Thirdly, prepare regular, accurate and complete financial performance reports that are supported and evidenced by reliable information.
Fourthly, review and monitor compliance with applicable legislation and regulations. I'm referring to the Public Finance Management Act, the Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations Act, the Constitution and other legislation.
Fifthly, design and implement formal controls over IT systems, to ensure reliability, availability, accuracy and protection of information.
Sixthly, implement appropriate risk-management activities to ensure regular risk assessment, including IT risk, and fraud prevention. Ensure that risk strategies are developed and monitored. It's not enough just to develop it; it must be monitored.
Lastly, ensure that there is an adequately resourced and functioning internal audit unit that identifies internal control deficiencies and recommends corrective action effectively.
A R600 million cut is not advantageous to the department. As a committee, we are going to approach Treasury to ensure that you are able to improve this department so that rural women can have access to justice. [Interjections.]
Hon Minister, more than 50% of South Africa's population are women. More than 90% of those women are not educated, rich or historically advantaged. I want you to listen to their voices, and not to the voices of your detractors. [Interjections.] I thank you very much. [Applause.]