DSI receives plaudits for third clean audit in succession
The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) has been cited as one of the country's best performing government departments after achieving a clean audit for a third consecutive year.
To top it all, Dr Phil Mjwara, the Director-General of the Department, received the annual Batho Pele Excellence Award for Best Director-General of the Year.
For the third year running, the Auditor-General delivered an unqualified audit opinion without any findings (a clean audit) on the DSI's financial statements, while an Audit Committee report expressed satisfaction with the manner in which the Department had conducted its affairs.
The DSI achieved 87%, or 40 out of 46, of its targets, with just six targets (13%) not achieved, demonstrating its commitment to sound corporate and financial governance.
On 24 November, during a virtual event to hand over the awards for these achievements, Mr Theunis Eloff, Senior Manager in the Office of the Auditor*-*General, described the DSI as a good example to the rest of government.
He added that in general, the Department complied with its policies and procedures and was ethical and accountable in its processes, which resulted in improved service delivery. This despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated nationwide lockdown, which had imposed heavy restrictions on people's movements.
Mr Eloff explained the auditing process, which includes visiting departments to ask questions on policies, procedures and controls. The information gathered is evaluated in terms of best standards as well as government practice notes, policies and regulations.
"We also report on deviations and evaluate your financial statements and your performance during the year to see if it is accurate and complete," Mr Eloff said. "From the Auditor-General, we say congratulations on these awards."
The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, congratulated the entire Department, saying receiving these awards had become the new normal for the DSI.
"I congratulate you all for your commitment, dedication and resolve to ensure the Department maintains and improves its annual performance by achieving most of its set targets," Dr Nzimande said.
He also congratulated Dr Mjwara for his Best Director-General of Year Award, as well as the Department's entities for their sterling work during the year.
The Minister urged the staff to continue to drive the vision and mission of the Department, not only to maintain the high standards that had been set over the past three financial years, but also to communicate the Department's agenda to all its stakeholders to engender a shared vision.
"The challenge now is to translate the advances we have made into a platform to promote science, technology and innovation broadly in society, and to generate interest, particularly among young people, in becoming scientists," he said.
The Deputy Minister, Mr Buti Manamela, encouraged the Department to raise the bar even higher to ensure that its impact in society and government was felt.
Finally, Dr Mjwara expressed his gratitude to the entire Department, adding that the award he had received was thanks to the quality of the team the Department had put together. "I am grateful to the entire team, and your participation in this regard should not be taken for granted."
