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SACCI COMMENT ON AG REPORT ISSUED 16 JANUARY 2012
SACCI COMMENT ON AG REPORT ISSUED 16 JANUARY 2012
In a statement issued today the CEO of SACCI, Mr. Neren Rau, said:
QUOTE:
The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) is concerned about the high level of qualified audits of government departments as reported by the Auditor General (AG) on 16 January 2012. Weaknesses in accounting practice have a direct impact on service delivery because lax record-keeping is a contributor to poor service delivery and corruption. The concerning increase in fruitless and wasteful expenditure from R3.9 billion in 2009/10 to R4.5 billion proves this point.
The accounting problems have already manifested in service delivery problems that impacted on SACCI members. Most concerning, these problems cause an increase in the cost of doing business and restrict job creation.
In November 2011, SACCI conducted a survey of our members regarding service delivery problems faced by business. The participants rated road maintenance as the worst service delivery failure (39.7%), followed by electricity distribution (32.9%), water and sanitation (12.3%), parks and public spaces upkeep (11%) and solid waste removal (4.1%).
Fifty two per cent of the respondents to the survey view service delivery problems as causing higher operating costs, followed by 20.5% who believe that the service delivery problems prevents them from operating at all and for 19.2% business these failures reduces the amount of business that can be generated. Only 8.2% of the recipients do not see service delivery problems having an effect on business.
SACCI agrees with the assessment of the AG that low levels of understanding of basic accounting in government plays a large part in the poor accounting practice. For this reason, SACCI calls on government departments to improve their accounting practices so as to ensure credible record-keeping and internal control. The standing offer by SACCI members to offer assistance in this regard remains open.
UNQUOTE
SACCI
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