How Dina Pule mismanaged the Department of Communications
The Department of Communications 2012/13 Annual Report tabled in Parliament today reveals how under the leadership of the former Minister of Communications, Dina Pule, the department was grossly mismanaged.
According to the Auditor-General's opinion on the financial statements of the Department:
46% of total planned targets were not achieved;
- Vacancies were not filled within 12 months as required by Public Service Regulations;
- Payments to suppliers were not made within 30 days as required by National Treasury Regulations;
- Appointments were made in posts which were not approved or funded;
- Employees were appointed without following processes to verify claims made in applications;
- Employees received overtime in excess of 30% of their monthly salaries;
- The Department's Accounting Officer did not exercise oversight to ensure that proper processes were in place for compliance with laws and regulations;
- Fruitless and wasteful expenditure amounting to R1.095 million due to "settlement agreements"; and
- Irregular expenditure amounting to R121 million, with R116 million carried over from the previous financial year.
The new Minister of Communications, Yunus Carrim, has undertaken to ensure that Departmental oversight is improved.
The DA will request that he appear in Parliament to present a turnaround plan for the Department for scrutiny.
The Department of Communications has dealt with enough embarrassments since 2009. It is time that it becomes an asset that the country can be proud of.
The new Minister now has the opportunity to drastically address the capacity of the Department of Communications' top management structure if he has any hope of achieving a clean audit by 2014.
Statement issued by Marian Shinn MP, DA Shadow Minister of Communications, September 27 2013
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