In Auditor-General (AG) Tsakani Maluleke's report on the performance of national government entities and an assessment of the underlying performance of the public sector released during the final week of November, she recommended that the new administration build a culture of accountability and consequences.

The recommendations in the report include building infrastructure, systems and professionalism, managing service delivery risks better, planning better and having greater capacity to ensure good performance, business organisation Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busi Mavuso notes in her weekly newsletter of December 2.

"Above all, it is about ensuring consequences when government departments and institutions fail to meet their legal obligations," Mavuso said.

The recommendations section of the report is full of good guidance for the new administration on how to do that, from accounting officers to Parliamentary oversight, she added.

"The AG has, once again, held the line on accountability and nudged government in a positive direction to ensure long-term performance and the better use of scarce public resources. She has given guidance on what they should be paying attention to and shone the spotlight on what can make a difference," Mavuso said.

The AG’s report provides an "excellent set of objectives" that the Government of National Unity would be wise to pursue.

However, this would require a broad approach, from provinces through to Parliament, to ensure the effective financial management of national and provincial government institutions, she said.

Further, while the AG's report shows that government has been doing better, including a marked improvement in the number of national government entities that are getting clean audits to 142, up from 93 entities five years ago, it also showed persistent problems, including entities simply ignoring the law.

Institutions such as South African Airways, the Post Office and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) did not file their financial statements on time.

"Maluleke particularly highlighted the UIF, which has been late for the past five years, yet manages a significant amount of money and plays a key role in our socioeconomic framework," Mavuso emphasised.