Bhisho bosses forfeit bonuses after audits remain below par

BHISHO legislature managers will not receive performance bonuses next month following a decision last year that bonuses will not be paid until audit outcomes improve.

Legislature politicians last year set the bar high for the institution, targeting a clean audit in the year under review, vowing that performance bonuses for top managers would not be paid until clean audits were achieved.

Last year legislature speaker Fikile Xasa ordered that none of the institution’s senior administration staff should get their 5% bonuses if they failed to improve: “We cannot have a situation where the institution gets a bad audit but managers are rewarded for that.

“I have made it clear to accounting officer that no manager should receive their performance bonus until audit outcomes the time.

In the 2010-11 financial year the institution obtained a clean audit.

However, it regressed in 2011-12 to an unqualified audit with findings, the same outcome received in the year under review, 2012-13.

The audit outcomes in the past two assessments are the closest to achieving a clean audit.

Ndamase yesterday confirmed a decision to forfeit bonuses had been sealed after matters were raised by the auditor-general, including irregular expenditure and failure to spend some of their committed budget.

“The consequences we are now facing are in relation to matters raised by the auditor-general, including our under-expenditure of R8.7-million in 2012-13, and issues around our irregular expenditure of around R6-million.”

Those affected include Ndamase, chief financial officer Mthunzi Njomba, nine general managers  including supply chain manager and ANC provincial executive committee member Mzuyanda Sokujika, and 27 senior managers.

Ndamase confirmed that senior personnel were to receive a 5% bonus each but refused to say exactly how much the institution will save as a result.

Local government MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane said the example should be followed by all departments and municipalities.

He revealed that after his department had failed to obtain outright clean audits in the past three assessments, none of the senior administrators had been paid performance bonuses for the past three years.

“For me it’s a question of all government departments following suit. People must start negotiating with themselves to say there is no use demanding huge bonuses while there is a depression, poor performance and bad audit outcomes.”