Riyaz Patel
The Auditor General has heaped praise on the Public Protector’s office over the public watchdog’s financial management strategies.
Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s office maintained an unqualified audit opinion, with findings, an outcome it has attained for the past four years.
Despite the chapter nine institution not being “clean yet,” it had improved its books and was “moving in a positive direction,” Fikile Mashao, a senior manager in the auditor-general’s office told MPs.
She presented the public protector audit report to Parliament’s Justice and Constitutional Development Committee Tuesday.
Mashao complimented improvements in the quality of performance of reporting, internal controls, record keeping and general compliance on financial and performance management.
The Office of the Public Protector did not incur any irregular expenditure in the year under review.
The office also introduced cost-containment measures and reduced its expenditure on travelling, among other things.
Mashao attributed some of the improvements to the filling of key positions and proper record keeping.
She said in terms of performance information, the office used to have a paragraph on non-compliance where audited records had incomplete information.
“However in the current year, that paragraph is not there. There has been major strides that have been done in that respect,” she said.
