A LACK of integrated systems, the use of manual systems in some instances and invalid banking details are some of the challenges government departments face in trying to pay service providers within 30 days.

These are some of the preliminary findings following the start of the Public Service Commission’s public hearings on the timeous payment of service providers, in Pretoria.

On Friday, several departments and agencies, including Statistics South Africa, the Department of Public Works and the South African Revenue Service, presented the difficulties they faced and the measures they had put in place to meet the 30-day deadline.

The Department of Public Works said it had a noncompliance rate of 4%, with an average of 6,000 invoices a month that were older than 30 days.

It still captures invoices manually but is “in the process” of implementing an electronic tracking system.

The public hearings, to be held countrywide, were intended to provide an overview of challenges but were also aimed at creating a forum for consultation and public participation regarding outsourced government services, the commission said.

Henry Malinga, chief director for supply-chain management at the Treasury, expressed his concern that many departments saw the full period of 30 days as the target. He said there was no reason service providers could not be paid within days after an invoice had been approved.

It also emerged at the hearings that service providers were often not paid due to the absence of the person responsible for signing off invoices.

However, alluding to a lack of urgency on the part of some officials, Mr Malinga said many people were, in fact, at the office but seemed to have left their signatures at home.

Departments also expressed their frustration at “archaic” and unintegrated systems. Despite promises made regarding the implementation of more sophisticated systems, some officials were not optimistic about the prospects.

 

 

Source: http://www.bdlive.co.za