Pretoria: For the first time in 31 years, the Department of Transport has achieved a clean audit for the financial year 2024/25, as assessed by the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) outcome.
According to South African Government News Agency, this has been welcomed by the Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, and Deputy Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa, who said the achievement is a step in the right direction towards a fully accountable and clean administration.
The AGSA’s opinion and conclusions on the following areas for the financial year 2024/25 was based on annual Financial Statements (AFS) that were submitted on time without any material misstatements; on internal controls the AGSA did not find any significant deficiencies, particularly in the financial management processes, and the AGSA did not identify any findings on the completeness of the indicators used for planning and reporting.
Creecy and Hlengwa have attributed the department’s clean audit outcome to the department’s commitment to clean governance and accountability. They emphasized the importance of management taking its assurance providers seriously and ensuring that they are appropriately resourced and capacitated. Management’s positive response to audit recommendations and addressing concerns timeously through effective audit action plans were also highlighted.
The proactive engagement with AGSA for reviews and preparing for the audit process was noted as vital for smooth execution. A combined effort and assurance practice from all functions within the department, from management efforts to risk management, internal audit, and oversight committees, especially the Audit Committee, played a crucial role. Additionally, the role of the Transport Portfolio Committee in ensuring that the department is accountable to Parliament was recognized as significant in achieving this clean audit outcome.