Parliament, Wednesday, 04 December 2019 – The Auditor-General of South Africa appeared before the Standing Committee on the Auditor-General (SCOAG) today to brief the committee on threats and intimidation against auditors.
From the briefing, the committee wanted to get an indication of the risk auditors face under circumstances of instability and violence. The committee invited the Office of the AG as it is important for the AG to operate in a harmonious environment where auditors feel free and independent to ensure the delivery of credible audit outcomes.
From the AG’s briefing today, the committee learnt that intimidation has been exacerbated through labour unrest and by staff members in various institutions who feel that they would lose their bonuses because of negative audit outcomes. Perpetrators of intimidation also relied on bribery, or instilling fear into the audit teams.
The committee is planning to call the institutions where these incidences were reported to appear before it next year. They will also have sittings with the affected portfolio committees including the Portfolio Committee on Police to prevent these incidents from happening.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE AUDITOR-GENERAL, MR SAKHUMZI SOMYO.
For media enquiries, please contact the Committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Ms Faith Ndenze
Parliamentary Communication Services
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Email: fndenze@parliament.gov.za
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