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A-G slams justice 'accounting'
04/07/2006 19:42 - (SA)
Cape Town - Auditor-general Shauket Fakie's latest performance audit of the justice and constitutional development department has revealed serious financial and administrative "inefficiencies".
The audit, tabled in parliament on Tuesday, identified financial and administrative "inefficiencies" in the management of moneys in trust (MMIT).
It revealed that maintenance and inheritance money intended for the poor, particularly women and children, was not being effectively managed by the department.
This was evident from the lack of defining regulations to regulate the trust which annually received almost R2bn from maintenance, inheritance and fine money.
The department also did not ensure effective financial management, which resulted in a total of R134m being recorded as an "unreconciled balance", R44m recorded as a shortfall, the accounts of 108 courts not balancing, 41 courts with missing or no records, and 120 courts without bank accounts.
No monitoring undertaken
Due to a lack of administration or enforcement of obligations in the Umlazi and Khayalitsha magisterial districts, 50 000 single-parent women did not receive maintenance money due to them and/or their children.
It was found no monitoring had been undertaken to ensure court orders were being honoured.
Unclassified money (money that had remained unclaimed in the trust account for six months or longer) amounted to R6m in 12 403 cases.
After five years, the financial administration system project for the justice deposit account system (JDAS) was not completed and it had been partially rolled out to only 25 of the 530 cash halls.
It was, consequently, still not possible to offer a "financial footprint" for money received and paid out to the public at courts.
Fakie said the accounting officer had indicated that the department had been working for a number of years with the national treasury to create a public-private partnership to "leverage on the infrastructure of the financial sector" and aimed to achieve full implementation in all provinces by December 2007.
Hopes for corrective steps
"The promotion of economy, efficiency and effectiveness depends on adequate management measures for the planning, budgeting authorisation, control and evaluation of the procurement and utilisation of resources.
"The responsibility to implement these management measures in managing the trust firmly rests with the department of justice and constitutional development's management.
"It is hoped this report will give rise to corrective steps, which will constructively contribute to the establishment and implementation of proper management measures and controls in the administration of MMIT by the department," said Fakie.
- SAPA
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