By Becker Semela:
The Free State Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA), has received a clean audit opinion from the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) for the 2024/25 financial year.
In a statement to NewsSA, the department MEC Ketso Makume said this achievement follows years of hard work and strategic planning by the department.
He said a few years ago, DESTEA adopted a strategy focused on strengthening internal controls, improving infrastructure delivery and following AGSA’s recommendations and directives. The department made sure every financial transaction followed the rules to avoid irregular spending.
“The department showed steady improvement in recent years, moving from a qualified audit opinion to unqualified with findings in 2022/23 and 2023/24. Now, for the 2024/25 financial year, DESTEA has improved further and received a clean audit.
A clean audit means that DESTEA’s financial statements are free from any major errors, and there were no cases of irregular, fruitless, or wasteful expenditure. It also shows that their performance reporting is based on valid and reliable evidence,” said Makume.
He said the AGSA report reflects the department’s commitment to good governance and professionalism, and he would like to congratulate the department’s team for the sterling work in ensuring that they spend the money entrusted to them by the people of the Free State in a prudent and responsible manner.
“I also give credit to all staff members, from cleaners to the Head of Department, for their collective effort in reaching this milestone.
Meeting the standards of AGSA clearly indicates that the department developed and stringently implemented action plans aimed at correcting the deficiencies identified during previous audits,” added Makume.
He further promised that DESTEA would continue supporting its entities to help them also improve their audit outcomes.- @NewsSA_Online.
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