Durban — KwaZulu-Natal premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube has called for an urgent meeting with the Auditor-General (AG) of South Africa Tsakani Maluleke on the latest pronouncements on the province’s response to the April and May floods.
In response to the report delivered by the AG, Dube-Ncube wrote to Maluleke asking for an urgent meeting to discuss matters raised in the findings.
On Wednesday, Maluleke presented her “real-time” audit report to Parliament’s ad hoc committee on flood disaster relief and recovery from the April floods.
The first special report contained initiatives selected for auditing, including social relief, water and sanitation – water tanker services – school mobile units, repairs to government properties, human settlements and temporary residential units.
Provincial government spokesperson Lennox Mabaso said: “We regard the Auditor-General as an important institution set up to strengthen our country’s constitutional democracy. It is important that as the provincial government we adequately understand and develop the capacity to respond to the issues raised by the Auditor-General.”
The provincial government said that according to the statement the AG looked at the following initiatives:
- Provision of mobile classrooms and kitchens to severely damaged schools in KwaZulu-Natal.
- Provision of temporary residential units for KwaZulu-Natal residents who lost their homes in the floods.
- Water tankering services in eThekwini Metro where damage to water infrastructure affected water supply.
- Social relief efforts in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
- Repairs to government properties.
Premier Dube-Ncube said the government of KwaZulu-Natal “noted the Auditor-General’s statement particularly that the first published special report deals with what her office found on the immediate and short-term initiatives that the government implemented. The KwaZulu-Natal Office of the Premier also notes that the Auditor-General’s office is yet to finalise the investigation, and that final findings will be included in reports to be released later.”
Dube-Ncube agreed with the AG’s highlights which are:
- Where delivery is slow or compromised, leadership must take urgent action to alleviate the hardship of affected communities.
- Even in times of crisis, the quality of delivery and value for money should be non-negotiable.
- Preventative controls should be implemented to avoid failure, especially in the infrastructure rebuilding phase.
- Government should continue to build disaster management capacity and capabilities and learn from previous disasters.
Dube-Ncube said: “Given the serious nature of the findings and the call for an urgent response, the Office of the Premier believes an engagement will be of great benefit and will enable provincial government and all sector institutions in the province to respond adequately and comprehensively to all the issues of concern raised by the Auditor-General.
“The Provincial Government will however continue to study all the reports on this matter, including the final general and special reports in order to be able to provide our own considered response on all matters raised by the Auditor-General’s office.”
The provincial government added that the April and May 2022 floods have been recorded as the worst in living memory. The province is keen to improve its capacity to mitigate the impact of such calamitous climate effects in the future.
Meanwhile, Business Leadership SA (BLSA) welcomed the release of the AG’s first special report on flood relief funds.
BLSA said that although the report’s findings demonstrate concerning shortcomings in the government’s capacity to respond expeditiously to humanitarian interventions, business is encouraged by the excellent quality of the work emanating from the AG.
BLSA chief executive Busi Mavuso said that the AG serves a fundamental role in our constitutional democracy, holding the government to account and providing invaluable insights into the efficacy of state institutions.
“We are heartened by the AG’s ongoing, independent outputs that speak truth to power with neither fear nor favour. This is indeed an organ of state that all South Africans should take great pride in. We commend, in particular, Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke’s capable stewardship of this critical pillar of our state apparatus,” Mavuso said.
BLSA also noted with regret the shortcomings in responses to the recent devastating floods and hopes that the AG’s report will catalyse improvements to both immediate and systemic processes to provide the necessary humanitarian relief and form the basis for the expeditious rebuilding of affected areas.
Daily News