Chapter 2 - P rogramme 1 - Department of Defence

| Department of Defence | Vote 20 |
ASSURANCE REPORT OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL TO
PARLIAMENT ON COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 4 OF THE
NATIONAL CONVENTIONAL ARMS CONTROL ACT, 2002
(ACT NO. 41 OF 2002), IN TERMS OF SECTION 12 OF THE
NATIONAL CONVENTIONAL ARMS CONTROL ACT, 2002
(ACT NO. 41 OF 2002) for the year ended 31 March 2008
• Inspected the register that must be kept in the prescribed form of persons involved in trade in
conventional arms.
• Inspected the register for all permits issued:
• Selected a sample of permits issued and followed through to the register.
• Selected a sample of entries in the register and followed through to the issued permits.
• Confirmed that all reports issued have been issued as required by section 23 of the act.
• Performed an analysis to identify anomalies in reported data.
• Determined whether information supplied was relevant, reliable, comparable and
understandable.
5. For the purpose of my limited assurance conclusion, my evidence-gathering procedures were more
limited than for a reasonable assurance engagement, and therefore less assurance was obtained than
in a reasonable assurance engagement.
6. I believe that the evidence obtained as part of my assurance engagement of the NCACC for the
year ended 31 March 2008, is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for my conclusion
expressed below.
Conclusion
7. Based on my work performed, except for the findings listed below, nothing came to my attention
to indicate that the NCACC did not comply with section 4 of the act.
• As required by section 4(1)(a) of the Act the NCACC should establish processes and structures
necessary for effective control over trade in conventional arms. The administrative structure of
the NCACC, the Directorate of Conventional Arms Control (DCAC), operated in terms of
the draft DCAC processing unit’s operating procedures until 29 May 2008. During the NCACC
meeting held on 29 May 2008 the DCAC’s internal operating procedures and processes were
approved.
• Not all reporting requirements as per section 23 of the Act were complied with. The following
matter relates to non-compliance with section 23 of the Act, due to capacity constrains at the
administrative function of the DCAC:
• Section 23(1)(b) of the Act requires that the NCACC should submit quarterly reports to
the Cabinet and a committee of Parliament. For the year under review no such quarterly
reports have been submitted. The DCAC only submitted an annual report to Parliament
which contained the information for all four quarters.
• Section 23(1)(c) of the Act requires that the annual report to Parliament should be submitted
at the end of the first quarter of the following period. The January 2007 to December 2007
report was only submitted on 9 June 2008.
347 Annual Report FY 2007 - 2008
| Financial Performance |