Chairperson, hon Minister, I just want to tell the hon Dubazana that if it weren't for the DA there would be no oversight, whatsoever. [Applause.] Secondly, the poor attendance, here, seems to me to be indicative of the fact that the departments do not know where money comes from, except the Department of Labour that adds R1 million to their own budget without reference to anybody.
But, hon Minister, on a more serious note, in your Policy Statement in the Strategic Plan of National Treasury, you commit yourself to ensuring the proper management of public finances and stepping up efforts to fight the scourge of fraud and corruption.
In this regard, the Treasury Budget provides for the establishment during 2010-11 of a special audit unit to focus on developing fraud prevention guidelines for supply chain management processes and providing fraud awareness and investigative capacity to departments. In this regard, the measurable outputs in the strategic plan, therefore, provide for the department to commit itself to the implementation of audit committee guidelines; to conduct internal audit reviews at municipalities; to report on the status of internal auditing in national and provincial departments and in municipalities; to support the roll-out of the internal audit framework and guidelines; to develop fraud detection guidelines for supply chain management processes; and to provide fraud awareness and investigative capacity to departments. The DA welcomes these objectives and they are crosscutting against all levels of government, but there are serious challenges in achieving them.
During an investigation by the Public Service Commission into supply chain management transgressions, for instance, it was found that the number of cases of financial misconduct in national and provincial departments reported to the Public Service Commission increased from 771 cases in the 2005-06 financial year to 1 042 in the 2006-07 financial year.
In parastatals the situation is equally bad. Consider, for instance, the awarding of a contract by Eskom to Hitachi, a company in which ANC Chancellor House holds shares. Not only was the contract awarded to Hitachi on very dubious grounds, but it was done under the then chairpersonship of Mr Valli Moosa, a National Executive Council, NEC, member of the ANC, at the time. The Public Protector, on investigating the case, quite correctly found a conflict of interest, but, as usual, no action was taken.
Municipalities are equally bad when it comes to fraud, supply chain management transgressions and perpetrators of unnecessary and wasteful expenditure. In the George municipality, for example, the Internal Audit Committee conducted investigations into wasteful expenditure incurred by the Speaker. They found him guilty and recommended that the monies concerned be recouped from him. When the report of the Internal Audit Committee served before council, the ANC-ID-led coalition council reacted by firing the chairperson of the Audit Committee, and they took no further action.
From the examples I have quoted, it becomes clear that there are two very important requirements to be met to eradicate fraud, corruption, wasteful expenditure and supply chain management transgressions. These are a clear distinction between party and state and the independence of audit committees at all levels of government to be guaranteed. Strengthening the independence of audit committees, in particular, at all levels of government, including parastatals, is therefore important.
Serious consideration should be given to delegating to the special audit unit, which we are going to form, the responsibility for confirming the names of appointees to such audit committees, and for authorising the dismissal of any member of such a committee. The special audit unit should also be authorised to take the necessary action where a clear distinction between party and state has not been upheld in the awarding of tenders.
The National Treasury further remains responsible not only for its own budget but also for the compilation of the overall Budget of government. In this regard, it is vitally important that the Treasury ensures the optimum usage of funds available for distribution, since choices are difficult when trying to balance the growing needs of the large number of people who have been, and are still, waiting in vain for service delivery and jobs.
Whereas the DA supports the existence of a social security net for vulnerable members of society, danger signals are starting to develop in that the number of people dependent on the social security net is growing beyond the means of the taxpayers. The current annual budget of R89 billion has to be funded by only 5,8 million taxpayers.
If public finances are to be sustainable and properly managed, urgent steps must be taken to dismantle the barriers to job creation that government seems determined to maintain by way of a closed patronage society and at the expense of hardworking taxpayers. The budget should, in fact, be used to place emphasis on the creation of an environment conducive to job creation - as you said in your speech, Minister - an open opportunity society where success is achieved through good skills development and hard work and where every citizen will have the opportunity to succeed, irrespective of race, religion or sex. Thank you. [Applause.]