No fear or favour for ministries, government officials - PAC
THE Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says all ministries and government officials will be treated equally and are expected to cooperate fully to make their lives and work easier.
This was said by PAC Chairperson Deputy Speaker Madala Mhlanga in his opening remarks on the first day of the sitting with the Ministry of Health on Tuesday.
Mhlanga said the PAC is capable and has been equipped in that all members went through orientation and were reminded of the importance of working with integrity and ensuring to work for the interest of the people.
Citizens
“Our job with the office of the Auditor General is to ensure that money appropriated by the government reaches the citizens of this country. The value for money is the most imperative aspect of our job. We are guided by the Privileges Act and the Constitution.
We agreed in unison with the committee that we shall treat all ministries equally and we expect full cooperation from government officials to make both our lives and work easier,” he said.
Mhlanga stated that the PAC should not be seen as a committee that fights controlling officers and others.
Their fundamental duties are to diagnose all reports in every way necessary, in that there will be instances where an operation will be carried out where necessary, some of which will be painful.
“Because here we are talking about public funds, which we must be very sensitive towards. In instances where there are over and under expenditures, neither is appreciated or encouraged because we should not exceed the 10 per cent threshold,” Mhlanga said.
He further stated that at the end of the day, the PAC will make recommendations to the relevant bodies based on the findings and requirements to diagnose.
He gave assurance that the PAC will be working by the books and will not stray and ensure to treat government officials with dignity whilst ensuring that the truth prevails in the process.
The chairperson further disclosed that evidence will be presented under oath before the PAC because of issues faced in the past.
“We have found ourselves having people walking scot-free because of evidence presented without taking an oath. Some from the ACC would state that the evidence they had presented was not sworn for and thus wasn’t admissible in court.
If we see an element of untruthfulness in any evidence presented before the PAC, a person will be called forward to give an oath, we have a bible readily available here,” Mhlanga said.