Minister van Rensburg Speaks at Administration Symposium

Colleagues, thank you for the opportunity. I hope that this administration symposium was of value to all of you, because good administration is at the heart of what a good and effective government is.

It is a fact that the Western Cape Province is being watched with hawk’s eyes by the rest of the country. We can once again see this as the release of our audit results is receiving much attention and scrutiny in the media.

Fortunately we are doing very well as a province:

• This year, four departments - Provincial Treasury, Community Safety, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning and Provincial Parliament - achieved clean audits (unqualified with no findings).
• Nine departments, which include Agriculture, achieved unqualified audits, with findings. In these departments, minor issues of a technical nature were raised by the Auditor-General which will be addressed in the ensuing year.

It is also a fact that our department is being watched with hawk’s eyes by the rest of our government. Fortunately we are also doing very well. We have a proud reputation which other departments envy. I know that our team, and this includes each one of you here today, is up to the challenge. Each year will be more difficult. But we must come to work each day with the intention of improving our performance.

Colleagues, the theme of this symposium was to do things right the first time. This is a very simple but powerful fact of good management and good administration. Small errors might seem to go unnoticed and without consequences at first. But the wheel turns, and when it becomes apparent it is often too late. So let us all remind ourselves of how important it is to do things 100% the first time. With administration there is no such thing as a small mistake or a half-mistake. It is either right or wrong.

The actual services we provide to our clients in agriculture are often far away from where the administration takes place. The CASP paper trail in the office is far away from the actual infrastructure, somewhere on a farm. But that makes it all the more crucial for the paper work to be 100%. It might take some time to discover irregularities, and by then it is too late.

Colleagues, I want to thank you once again for all the hard work and dedication. I hope this symposium reminded you of the basics of good administration. Please come back to work on Monday with:

• Renewed energy for accuracy.
• Come to work with eyes that are focussed on detail.
• Sharpen your pencils, and let’s make a difference with the service we provide to the agricultural community of the Western Cape.

Thank you.