Premier Mabuza praises AG for support

16 October 2013

Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza has praised the outgoing Auditor-General Terrence Nombembe for helping government institutions in the province to improve on performance.

Bidding farewell to Mr Nombembe on his last official visit to Mpumalanga as the Auditor-General, Premier Mabuza praised him saying the relationship between the province and the AG’s office could be described as a “fulfilling and an exciting” journey.

Mabuza said the provincial government learnt a lot from Nombembe as he managed to “skilfully” get into their minds and hearts in terms of complying with the obligations required by the Office of the Auditor-General.

“My assessment of this journey is that you have done very well for a young man like you. You are an asset to this country and I wish our country could have many more people like you who take their work seriously.

“You have managed to successfully elevate all the issues pertinent to our day-to-day running of the business of government. You told us our failures and you were able to play the ball not the man.

“You have been very patient with us and at the same time you also managed to tell us about our weaknesses. We are proud as a province to have associated with you. The ball is now on our court to utilise the lessons we have learnt during the course of our journey,” said Mabuza.

“For everything under the sun, there is a beginning and an end. As politicians we were given an opportunity too to run government on behalf of the people for a term. We are looking forward to another life after our term.

“It is not a given that we will still be politicians again in the next term. We must therefore understand that the will of the people must always be obeyed. It is inspiring to see you concluding your journey with excitement,” said Mabuza.

The Premier said the Auditor-General was facing the future with courage and lots of opportunities awaited him.

“If I had things my way, I was going to enlist some of your skills in our province. Do not leave the country, South Africa needs you. All of us must put our hands together and make our country a better place to live,” said Mabuza.

Meanwhile the Auditor-General said there was hope that government could achieve the desired clean audit in 2014 as many leaders knew what ought to be done in order to achieve it.

He said the fact that some municipalities were starting to receive clean audits was a good sign that through dedication a lot could be achieved.

“I have no doubt in my mind that operation clean audit 2014 is highly possible, all we need to do is to attend to the issues that need to be implemented. It will not be long before we start seeing the good results,” said Nombembe.

Nombembe bid farewell to the provincial leadership during a three-day Cabinet Lekgotla held in Skukuza.

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