Council expands financial control
2007-08-16
Anne Kruger
THE Drakenstein municipal council has approved in principle the establishment of a multi-party standing committee on municipal expenditure (similar to the parliamentary Scopa committee).
The committee must include representatives of all political parties that have seven or more representatives in Council, pro rata (ANC, DA, IDP). The Council is led by a coalition of the DA and ID.
Members of the committee will be appointed for two years at a time and may not serve more than two terms.
The committee will meet at least four times per year to exercise oversight over voted funds, the collection of revenue and the quality of the financial administration in general.
* Council is also to expand its audit control functions by launching a performance audit committee in addition to the financial audit committee and is seeking nominations from the public.
The new audit committee of five nominated members will be appointed on a two year contract from September (irrespective of changes in the political environment) and will meet at least four times per year. Councillors may not be members.
Members should be objective, have knowledge of risk management, internal control processes, management principles, ethics and corporate governance.
They will oversee the safeguarding of assets, the operation of adequate systems, control processes and the preparation of accurate financial reporting and financial statements.
Due to the urgency of getting the performance management system going, a separate performance audit committee will meet six times per year.
Three members are nominated by the biggest political parties, while two may be nominated by the public. The chairperson is appointed from the nominations received, by an internal committee.
Should too few suitable nominations be received from the public, the three biggest parties in the Council and the administration may also make nominations.
* An additional new committee, the performance audit committee consisting of four nominated members, will review the adequacy of the Performance Management System (PMS) and the quarterly internal audit report of the PMS and submit reports to Council.
The performance audit committee has an important role regarding the oversight of the performance of the municipal manager and heads of department.
Three members are nominated by the three biggest parties, while one may be nominated by the public or headhunted if necessary, to serve as chairman. The posts for the two committees are advertised on page 32 and nominations close at the end of the month.
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