Audit shock for municipality - Letaba Herald

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PAGE 2 HOEDSPRUIT HERALD - Friday 15 February 2013 NEWS Local municipalities fail audit THE Mopani District Municipality and its five local municipalities received poor audit results from the Office of the Auditor General for the 2011/2012 financial year which ended last June. Mopani, Tzaneen, Giyani and Ba-Phalaborwa received disclaimers which means the auditor-general's office was unable to express an audit opinion because of a lack of sufficient or appropriate audit evidence due to the municipalities poorly prepared annual financial statements. The Greater Letaba Municipality improved from adverse outcome in the 2010/2011 financial year to qualified audit opinion in 2011/2012 whilst the Maruleng Municipality went down from unqualified audit opinion with findings to qualified outcome. The latest audit outcomes reflect a very poor and undesirable state of financial affairs des- pite the municipalities paying five external consultants hourly rates of between R1700 and R2 200 per person for attending quarterly and special meetings aimed at assisting municipalities improve their financial affairs in line with the strategic objectives of Operation clean Audit 2014. The consultants who form a five member District Audit Committee, consisting of Accountants, IT Specialist and a Lawyer also receive R1000 preparatory allowance, each determined by the meetings attended. The office of the Auditor-General attributed the poor audit outcomes to lack of strong internal controls, key officials lacking minimum competencies and skills, lack of consequences for poor performance and transgressions and lack of political will to address outcomes. 'The figures for unauthorised, irregular, fruit- less and wasteful expenditure also appear to be getting worse,' said Satish Pillai, a senior manager in the Office of the Auditor General in the province. Pillai said the status of audit outcomes stems from failure by the leadership of the municipalities to implement the audit recommendations from the previous year. Members of the opposition parties in Mopani municipalities say violation and disregarding of supply chain policy when taking decisions relating to the awarding of tenders, contributed immensely to the poor audit outcomes. 'Unless stricter controls measures are implemented the system in the municipalities will remain open for abuse and fraudulent activities resulting in more poor audit outcomes,' said a senior municipal official who did not wish to be named. Mopani District Municipality manager, Tim Maake could not be reached for comment, as his mobile phone rang unanswered. BAD NEWS: Satish Pillai and Essa Muhamed of the office of the Auditor General in the province during the municipal finance week in Tzaneen on Thursday.
NEWS MOVING WITH THE TIMES: Hoedspruit is about to get its very own Information App(application).The Hoedspruit Info App will be launched in mid March Hoedspruit takes another step into the 20th century THOSE of us that have been living in Hoedspruit for more than 10 years will have noticed the exceptional and extreme changes creeping in at a rapid rate over the years and have taken the town from the little corner shop Kwikspar and single garage town to the large supermarkets and well known shop franchises developments. And now in March this year, yet another advancement will see Hoedspruit moving further into the 20th century and the electronic world. Hoedspruit is about to get its very own Information App(application). The Hoedspruit Info App will be launched in mid March on three different platforms - ie HOEDSPRUIT HERALD - Vrydag 15 Februarie 2013 PAGE 3 Rhino poachers in court Apple, Blackberry and Android Smartphone and will be free to all users who are looking for more information. Whether you are a local looking for business information or something to do, or whether you are a visitor next door, or overseas and planning your next trip to our region, the Hoedspruit Info App will be able to assist you with your planning. Businesses will purchase advertising space and their listings on the app will allow app users to get important and vital information available at a glance, make an immediate phone call without having to transfer a number into the dialing section of the phone, see the businesses location immediately on a google map, get precise directions from the users current location to the immediate location of the business and much much more. Below shows you an example of what a listing will look like and what each of the related buttons or selection options will offer. Bookings for the app will be closing at the end of Feb in order to enable us to complete the listing designs and uploading of each of the listings. To book your space and be part of this exciting new development, please email us on web@hoedspruit.co.za or alternatively see the webpage www.hoedspruit.co.za/app.html for more information. By Thandy Ndlovu THREE suspected rhino poachers appeared in Mutale Magistrates' Court last Thursday. The suspects were arrested after they were found on the premises of the Nwanedi Game Reserve in the Tshamatumbu area of Limpopo on Tuesday. 'The rangers at the Reserve spotted the three men, carrying a hunting rifle, after they heard shots being fired in the reserve. When the rangers confronted the suspects, shots were fired at them. The rangers returned fire, injuring one of the suspects in the leg,' said Limpopo provincial police spokesperson Lieutanant colonel Ronel Otto. The other two suspects fled the scene but were later arrested after follow up investigations were conducted. The two suspects were arrested at their homes at Mosodi Village, Tshamatumbu, last We d n e s d a y. An unlicensed 303 hunting rifle was confiscated during these arrests. The suspects were remanded in custody THE rhinos at Hoedspruit Air Force Base's horns were made worthless to poachers after the Base conducted DNA sampling and administered a chemical treatment of the animals horns. Lieutenant Colonel Phillip Oosthuizen initiated the project with the help from Protract Anti Poaching Unit, Rhino Rescue Project who sponsored the treatment, the Green Kids, the Department of Environmental Affairs, veterinarian Dr Christo van Niekerk and the Directorate Animal Health SAMHS. 'The chemical treatment which will last for 3-4 years was chosen as the best option over dehorning of the rhinos' horn which only last for a year,' said Major Gys van Staden. Major van Staden said the Air Force Base took this extreme action after five rhinos were poached at Umhlametsi Private Nature Reserve in the last year. after their court appearance. The suspects were charged for trespassing, the illegal possession of a fire-arm, attempted murder, as well as unlawful hunting. In another incident members of the Stock Theft Unit also arrested four suspects after two prized buffalo, to the value of more than R700 000, were poached and slaughtered on a farm in the Gravelotte area. The two animals were caught in snares on the farm during the night of February 3. The Police followed up information and arrested four suspects at The Oak village near Hoedspruit during the early morning hours of Wednesday morning. The meat of game that the suspect slaughtered was found in their possession. The four suspects appeared in the Lenyenye Magistrates' Court this last Thursday on charges of the illegal possession of game meat. They are Majalefa Sekgobela (35), Wellington Mafolegela (49), Sello Morema (42) and Elsie Sekgobela (45). Sekgobela and Mafolegela will also appear in the Phalaborwa Magistrates' Court on Friday for poaching charges. Horns made worthless He said prior to the illegal rhino poaching there were three incidents of the breaching of security and an attempt to track and kill rhinos on Suikerkop. Currently there are only two units within the SANDF that possesses white rhino populations. The horn treatment strategy has the following advantages: durability, longer lasting, the horn becomes redundant and unusable when treated. To date no poaching of rhinos with treated horns have been reported. AFB Hoedspruit liaised with other researchers working on different challenges affecting rhino population and engaged with Dr Lorinda Hern from the Rhino Rescue Project who approved and supported this project and agreed to conduct such a program free of charge on both the SA Air Force (SAAF) units who own rhinos.
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Audit shock for municipality - Letaba Herald

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