ACCOUNTANT-GENERAL WELCOME SPEECH Director-General of National Treasury, Mr Lungisa Fuzile, Outgoing Chair Person of ESAAG, Mrs Emma Peloetlese and Accountant-General of Botswana; Accountants-General of ESAAG; Delegates Guests; and Ladies and Gentlemen It gives me great pleasure to welcome all our distinguished delegates from across our beautiful continent. As the youngest Accountant-General in the house having been just recently appointed.i am delighted and honored to see so many that have left your home country comforts to come and help debate, shape and realize the vision and mission of ESAAG, which is, as you know, to support East and Southern African Accountants General, to develop sound PFM practices by providing relevant: o Capacity building opportunities; o Networking and information sharing opportunities; o Advice on PFM Legislation Framework; o Regional and international representation and promoting cooperation with strategic regional and international stakeholders; and To Mr Fuzile, thank you for the address and the insights you have shared with the conference. Be assured that during the days to come, we will collectively reflect on the
challenges addressed and consider the expectations you have put forward to accountants in public service. Thank you for making time in your busy schedule feedback on the deliberations will be provided to you at an appropriate time Ladies and gentlemen, the South African government certainly places a high premium on regional economic integration, and increasing the voice of the African continent in international financial and monetary institutions. We have no doubt that ESAAG is an indispensable vehicle for improvement of the democratic processes and contributing to good governance through its promotion of transparency, accountability, capacity building and the strengthening of member governments accounting professionalization. With this in mind, I am honoured to accept the chairpersonship of ESAAG. Since this is one of my first official speeches as Accountant-General of South Africa, and in a sense also my first as incumbent Chair of ESAAG, please allow me to borrow what I believe is an instructive and opportune call to duty from the first or inaugural speech that our recently departed Madiba (Nelson Mandela) gave as President of Post- Apartheid South Africa in 1994. The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us. I am not for one moment suggesting that ESAAG is battered, wounded and divided! On the contrary, the following achievements as documented in the 2013 Annual Report signal that the association is stronger than ever: capacity building opportunities (courses and annual conference), to about 1300 delegates from member countrie;
Governance improvements: Sub committees met regularly, EXCO met regularly; Successful 2013 20 th International Conference; The association s financial position has been favorably stabilized. Many countries are embracing modern technology IFMS implementation in ESAAG member countries receive a lot of investment Member countries are moving forward in the field of accounting reform in that reporting is becoming more transparent and timeous, in addition financial management improvements in cash management. It will therefore be amiss not to extend a word of gratitude to Manfred Moses who has accepted additional responsibilities in Acting as CEO of ESAAG. We can all attest that despite your other responsibilities in National Treasury, that you have facilitated the PFM healing, bridging and building mandate of ESAAG. A special thank you to the rest of the Secretariat, who under-promised (being understaffed), but over-delivered in building bridges. Thank you also to the outgoing Chairperson for setting such high standards for me to emulate. The Secretariat has informed me that your leadership, instance on quality work and technical excellence, has created drive and enthusiasm in the region. It is also under your capable chairmanship, that ESAAG has restored stability and financial viability. The region is indebted to you for your contribution and insights. However, colleagues, much still needs to be done. Similar to many of the member governments represented here, the South African government is serious about public financial management improvement, for excellence in service delivery hinges on excellence in public financial management and good governance. I am sure that the following challenges that we face in this country will resonate with you and your context. Recent research completed by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), illustrated that there were 22,030 public and private sector
auditing and accounting vacancies, and that the supply of graduates and professionals entering the market is inadequate to keep up with increased demand. Furthermore, only 1.6 per cent of accountant posts in the public sector are filled by registered professionals, compared with 11.5 per cent of such posts in the private sector. In 2010, vacancy rates for staff in the public sector averaged 31 per cent for finance positions, 36 per cent for supply chain management, 39 per cent for internal audit and 44 per cent for risk management (National Treasury 2010). The situation is made worse by a high turnover rate in PFM, averaging 14.6 months. If we are going to address these debilitating constraints, ESAAG will have to intensify its efforts to support members to more strategically and systematically: develop an enabling environment; enhance of organisational capacity; empower competent and committed high-performance employees; establish an environment that enables and sustains mutually beneficial stakeholder relationships. This is in sync with the African Consensus and Position on Development Effectiveness that affirms that: Capacity Development is critical for achieving Africa s renewal based on clear vision, strategic planning, effective and accountable leadership and capable institutions at all levels. It constitutes the how for the Continent to exit from Aid dependency towards self-sufficiency and sustainable development...development therefore hinges on enhancing available human and institutional assets in adding value to the abundant natural resources and building of sustainable economies. Thus, capable public and private sectors will drive the turnaround of Africa s economy This, ladies and gentlemen, is the space of ESAAG.
And as we take its work forward, I want to commit to the following immediate initiatives, highlighted in the recent ESAAG review report: 1. Strengthening of the ESAAG Secretariat Much of the past wounds inflicted on ESAAG can be attributed to a historically small Secretariat, that was too understaffed to complete its brief and, more importantly, for effective financial controls to be maintained. In terms of training offerings, this perhaps has contributed to the same stock of courses being overused - the Secretariat staff simply may not have had the physical capacity to diligently monitor and evaluate, conduct needs assessments and commission relevant new courses. 2. Customization of select ESAAG capacity building solutions Although participants have been very positive about the value derived from the ESAAG training programmes and courses, there does seem to be a need to look into the making some it more relevant and stimulating by infusing it with specific practical issues and needs faced by Public Finance Management (PFM) practitioners in Africa and less general and theoretical. 3. Expanding the ESAAG Funding Base Since its inception the ESAAG has mainly been funded through SIDA, the World Bank and membership fees. Over the last few years ESAAG has been struggling to maintain adequate funding to support its varied and critical developmental activities. Needless to say, the global economic recession, coupled with the economic disparity between member states, has led to inadequate revenue from membership fees. 4. Technical Enhancements in the Region
Many of us are engaged in modernising PFM in our respective countries. The reforms range from cash management, improving reporting practices to implementing IFMS. This conference come at the perfect time for many of us in our efforts to enhance our operations and contribute to the management of our respective countries finances. Distinguished delegates, as you participate and deliberate over the next few days in this ESAAG conference, and as you leave inspired and motivated, back to your respective offices on Friday, remember: The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us.