Right of response – Cape Argus – April 6, 2023. The article titled “Provincial Treasury underspent by R17.6 million”, published on April 6, has reference.
While the article correctly states that the underspending of 5.7% refers to the 2021/22 financial year, it is important for Cape Argus readers to be aware of the very significant progress made in the most recently concluded financial year, 2022/23, in which 99.5% of the total budget allocated to the provincial treasury was spent.
This commendable progress is due to additional measures put in place to address underspending and include detailed monthly cash flow monitoring, quarterly engagements with each directorate covering all areas of financial management, from management accounting, supply chain management, internal control and financial accounting, as well as the distribution of immediate notices if slow spending or deviations from contract time frames or the annual procurement plan are experienced.
Looking to the year ahead, the provincial treasury will implement some exciting initiatives, such as the provincial treasury data centre, the customer relationship management tool, and the ever-greening legacy systems initiative, to further enhance and enable efficient and effective service delivery, to streamline electronic communication with citizens, suppliers and government stakeholders, and improve the use of data for informed decision making.
I applaud the work being done by the provincial treasury and their drive to go further and to do better for the residents of the province, and their immense contribution to helping ensure 100% of Western Cape government departments received positive audit opinions in the 2021/22 financial year.
This is what sets us head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to good governance.
* Western Cape Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC, Mireille Wenger.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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