Mineral Resources improves financial management

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Briefing the Parliamentary Committee on Mineral Resources on Tuesday [8 July 2014], Jan Schalkwyk, the corporate executive at the office of the Auditor General, told Members of Parliament (MPs) that the department had shown commitment to improve on audit concerns that were raised in the past.

Schalkwyk was analysing the outcomes of the 2012/13 audit ahead of the release the 2013/14 audit results.

"The department and its entities are on a better spectrum.

"When you speak about financial management, the department has built a solid foundation to work from. The only real challenge [on their financial management] is that they can be slightly more disciplined," Schalkwyk said.

Schalkwyk said the department received an unqualified audit opinion for the 2012/13 financial year on its pre-determined objectives, which are service delivery targets or promises that the department set for the said financial year.

While the department received the same audit in the 2011/12 financial year, Schalkwyk said the Auditor General raised issues related to mining royalties and prospecting fees, which resulted in the department receiving a qualified opinion on its financial statements.

The department complied on its financial and performance management, human resources management and its revenue management.

Meanwhile, the department's entity -- the South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator (SADPMR) -- received an unqualified audit opinion on its pre-determined objectives, while it received an unqualified audit opinion with no findings on its financial statements. It received the same audit in the previous year.

The State Diamond Trader, the Council for Mineral Technology Research (MINTEK) and the Council for Geosciences (CGS), also received unqualified audit reports for the 2012/13 financial year. The Mine Health Safety Council (MHSC) regressed to an adverse opinion on its pre-determined objectives compared to its unqualified audit outcome in the previous year.

Issues raised for the MHSC were in relation to its compliance when it came to irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, procurement and internal audit.