Provincial Treasury achieves 11th clean audit amid tough fiscal environment

The Western Cape Provincial Treasury has achieved its 11th unqualified audit opinion for the 2023/24 financial year. Provincial Minister of Finance, Deidré Baartman, today tabled the Provincial Treasury’s Annual Report before the Standing Committee on Finance and congratulated the Department on their dedication to ensuring that public funds are managed prudently.

Both the Provincial Revenue Fund and the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board also received unqualified audit opinions for the 2023/24 financial year. 

Minister Baartman said, “The Provincial Treasury’s commitment to sound financial management is a cornerstone of the Western Cape Government’s (WCG) success. This latest audit result underscores the Department’s dedication to fiscal responsibility and good governance in a severely constrained fiscal environment. As an enabling partner in the province, the Provincial Treasury continued to provide consistent support at a municipal and provincial level this past financial year.”

Municipal support

A key focus area during the financial year under review was support offered to municipalities. The Provincial Treasury supported municipalities during audits, helping to address their financial challenges and improve their performance. The department also produced the Municipal Economic Review and Outlook (MERO) which assists both the province and municipalities in decision-making; facilitated collaboration on fiscal governance challenges via its CFO Forum, and conducted Municipal Performance Assessments to monitor budget implementation and performance. Vulnerable municipalities such as Beaufort West and Kannaland were assisted with the development and implementation of financial recovery plans – with Beaufort West already demonstrating some improvements.

Supply Chain Management

The department made great strides in improving the WCG’s supply chain management (SCM) systems. The new e-Procurement Solution tool was introduced which allows WCG departments to manage procurement electronically. Other significant achievements include the Provincial Treasury’s 53 SCM Insight performance reports; processing 12 732 supplier queries, including 1090 walk-ins by suppliers at the Procurement Client Centre; attending to 196 queries provided to departments and public entities; 142 supplier queries were processed through the SCM Helpdesk; and holding 4 quarterly SCM forums to help build capacity and support departments and public entities.

The Department also provided similar support to local governments. Provincial Treasury hosted the 10th Annual Smart Procurement Conference and a SCM-Local Economic Development Indaba; resolved 456 local government related queries connected to SCM; participated in 10 Supplier Open Days across 5 municipal districts; and completed 10 municipal procurement planning assessments – among other interventions.

Skills Development

In the previous financial year, the Provincial Treasury provided external bursaries to youth in critical study areas such as Finance, Accounting and related fields and through the Chartered Accountants Academy it continues to provide accredited training to prospective chartered accountants.

“Despite the limited funding and capacity at its disposal, the Provincial Treasury has innovated in order to address financial constraints, support municipalities, and ensure ongoing quality financial management across every department and entity within the WCG,” continued the Minister.

“I commend our Head of Department, Julinda Gantana, and the entire Provincial Treasury team on a job well done. Our focus will always be on supporting municipalities and provincial entities in their pursuit of efficient service delivery and long-term sustainability in service of our residents, ” Minister Baartman concluded.