etc.
Furthermore in 2012 BUSA posted on YouTube an Orientation Programme for new entrants
in the business environment outlining different types of corruption as well as Key Tools for
Promoting Business Integrity and Ensuring Transparency and Accountability in the Market
Place.
Some successes have been registered by the anti-corruption machinery, especially in
uncovering corrupt practices. In 2010, the DSD uncovered fraud in the administration of
social grants and terminated 32 687 fraudulent payments valued at R180 million 22. In 2011,
R44 million was recovered from public servants who illegally benefited from a housing
subsidy scheme aimed at assisting poor people. As has been reported in the previous
report, South Africa established the Asset Forfeiture Unit and asserts successfully seized by
the unit and forfeited to the state are deposited into the Criminal Asset Recovery Account.
The Unit has, as at 2013, seized assets valued at more than R541million, R61million of
which has already been forfeited to the State and would be routed back to the fight against
crime and corruption. A R150 million of this amount was approved for the work of the AntiCorruption Task Team referred to in the previous report, comprising of the Hawks, the
Special Investigating Unit and the NPA.
3.2 ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
As stated above, one of the major achievements of the South African government, during
this reporting period was the adoption of the NGP in 2010 and NDP in 2012. Both the NDP
and the NGP outlines strategic interventions that are necessary to facilitate a paradigm shift
in the country’s development thinking from over-reliance on government to co-dependence
and joint action. It promotes the building of an efficient state with capacity to transform the
economy. More importantly it provides a long term vision to achieve a number of policy
objectives.
3.2.1
Public Expenditure Management Capacity Development
The 2011/2012 Audit outcomes reflect that the country’s progress towards a clean audit is
occurring at a snail’s pace and they also reflect that there has been an increase in the
number of annual financial statements that received financially qualified opinions with 25
regressions (12 departments and 13 public entities) and only 21 improvements. An indication
has been given that the root cause of adverse, disclaimers and qualified audit opinions are
ineffective internal controls, weak checks and balances for all key financial processes, poor
reporting and weak validation. This impugns the credibility of financial reporting.
Hence the NDP underlines the need to re-skill and re-orientate public servants on the basics
of key legislations such as the PSA and PFMA. There is hope that the situation is going to
improve given the commitment the provincial leadership (premiers) has made in 2013, to
improve internal governance systems, through the recruitment of suitably qualified officials,
the up-skilling of the workforce and the maximization of compliance with ethics and standard
operating procedures.
22
DSD Annual Report
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