Photo by: Duane Daws
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) was ordered on Wednesday to settle disputes with the Auditor General (AG) about the transport entity's annual report.
The instruction came from Parliament's public accounts standing committee (Scopa) chairperson Themba Godi, who expressed disquiet after a briefing by Prasa.
The agency's officials questioned the AG's findings contained in the annual report.
The AG found that "six contracts were amended or extended without approval by a delegated official, resulting in non-compliance with the SCM (Supply Chain Management) policies developed in terms of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and Treasury regulations".
PRASA insisted it had proof that the officials who extended contracts with private companies did in fact have the delegated authority.
"After the audit report was written, I had a meeting with the AG's office where we had agreed it's incorrect but their argument was that the evidence came a little bit late," Prasa chief financial officer Fenton Gastin told MPs.
He said senior officials of the AG's office had "promised him" they would write to the transport department and the National Treasury to say the audit opinion was incorrect.
The AG's office stood by its audit opinion.
"From the evidence we had reviewed, we had found that those officials did not have the authority to extend those contracts at the time of the audit. There is nothing that's missing from an audit point of view," AG senior manager Lindani Mukhudwani told MPs.
Godi said it was the first time an entity had said "the AG is wrong".
He later warned Prasa to submit all audit information on time, and instructed them to meet the AG to settle the disputed information.
"We have rarely allowed a dispute that would seek to impugn on the integrity of that office. But, some of the issues that were raised there, it is good we pursue them further," he said.