BL Premium reports that MPs were told on Wednesday that a culture of impunity reigned within the Department of Employment & Labour (DEL) and its entities because there was little consequence management for wrongdoing.

Auditor-General (AG) officials said in a presentation to parliament’s employment & labour committee on the audit outcomes for the portfolio that this exposed the DEL, the Compensation Fund (CF) and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) in particular to fraudulent activities by external and internal parties. “A culture of strong performance, accountability, transparency and consequence management is not embedded within the department and key entities within the portfolio, resulting in the lack of improvement in the audit outcomes and performance of the portfolio,” senior audit manager Delta Rapitsi said.

Particularly disturbing, the officials noted, was the state of the CF, which once again after several years received a disclaimer on its financial statements because of its inadequate record-keeping. The fund is responsible for the payment of claims for injuries or illness at work. The AG’s office recommended that a forensic investigation into the fund be undertaken – possibly by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) — to determine the cause of the malaise and facilitate consequence management. The UIF received a qualified audit opinion with findings. The audit outcomes of Nedlac and the CCMA were the best in the portfolio, both receiving unqualified opinions with no findings. Opposition MPs were dissatisfied at the non-appearance of DEL Minister Nomakhosazana Meth at the meeting.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)

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