EC agriculture bodies on right financial track
aHeaD OF PUBliC seCtOr mONtH, two Eastern Cape entities celebrate clean audits and commit to sustaining clean governance when delivering services.
the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform (DRDAR) and the Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency (ECRDA) both received clean audits from the Auditor-General for the 2016/17 financial year.
The ECRDA continued its good governance and accountability record by achieving its second consecutive clean audit. Congratulating the agency, MEC for Rural Development and Agrarian Reform Mlibo Qoboshiyane said the results mean the department and the agency are on the right track.
“These audit outcomes prove that our systems and controls are working and we will continue sustaining these results.
“Our goal is not just to get clean audits, but clean audits based on the prudent delivery of services to end poverty, create jobs, and grow the agriculture economy through commodity-based programmes, link farmers to markets in a way that brings material benefits and changes in the lives of the people in the province,” said Qoboshiyane.
Strong systems and controls
“Clean governance demands that government officials do everything by the book so that we meet the needs of the people in the province at all times. As we celebrate the clean audits, we are aware that this is what is constitutionally expected of us and we commit to sustaining clean governance when delivering services to the people of the province.”
Qoboshiyane congratulated all employees – from the chair of the board and the head of department to all the programme managers and staff – for their efforts, adding that the achievement sends a good message to the private sector and any potential investors who may want to partner with government and its entities.