24 Provincial Departments yet to table annual reports 

24 provincial departments have not met deadlines to table annual reports and financial statements in their respective legislatures, a reply to a DA parliamentary question has revealed. No reasons have been provided to National Treasury for the delays.

In terms section 65 of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), accounting officers are required to submit annual reports to the relevant treasury, and the executive authority is then required to table the report in the relevant provincial legislature by 30 September of each year. The respective legislatures are responsible for addressing non-compliance. 

The DA will write to the Speakers of each of the affected provincial legislatures demanding that all provincial departments that have not tabled annual reports be held accountable.

According to the reply, the worst performing provincial departments were in KwaZulu-Natal (11) and the North West (13). In the North West, not a single annual report has been tabled, and in Kwazulu-Natal, only five were tabled. In the Eastern Cape, 1 report was tabled late and in the Free State 2 reports were not tabled, but explanations provided

In the DA - led Western Cape, provincial departments submitted all 14 reports within the given deadline. 

The failure to submit annual reports on time hinders constitutionally required oversight and is against the law.

South Africa and its elected public representatives should be privy to how public funds are spent so that corruption, maladministration and wasteful expenditure can be rooted out. 

The DA will not let those who undermine accountability and transparency get off the hook. We will continue to do everything possible to ensure that every cent of public money is spent on providing more and better services, growing the economy and creating jobs. Our people deserve nothing less.

Statement issued by John Steenhuisen MP, DA Shadow Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, December 1 2013

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