Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise has informed Parliament that the finalisation and publication of the Department of Military Veterans annual report and financial statements will be delayed due to management issues.
In letters to the National Council of Provinces and National Assembly on 2 October, she explained that in line with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), departments must table their annual report and financial statements within a month after the accounting officer has received the audit report.
“Due to the instability in the senior management, coupled with the lack of a duly appointed audit committee, I had approved for the Department of Military Veterans to delay by two months the submission of the Draft Annual Financial Statements and the Draft Annual Performance Report to Auditor General of South Africa and National Treasury,” Modise wrote.
“This delay was approved in line with Section 40(5) of the PFMA. The department duly submitted on the 31 July 2023 and the Audit is concluded and the Audited Annual Financial Statements will be submitted by 30 September 2023 to National Treasury. In line with Section 65(1)(a) above, the audit report will be received on the 30 September 2023 and the department will be able to table annual report within one month after receiving the audit report. The tabling for the department will take place before 31 October 2023.”
Pension payout delay
Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans (PCDMV) was told on 4 October that payment of the pension for military veterans has been delayed due to regulation not being published in time. The pension regulations are with the Government Printing Works and are scheduled for publication on 6 October, removing another hurdle in the process.
The PCDMV last month heard that military veterans would have to wait for ministerial approval before the “payment process” for pensions can be started. This was one of five “outstanding administrative issues” presented by the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA) to last month’s PCDMV meeting. The ministerial approval has to come from Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana.
Other outstanding issues are “gazetting” of signed military veteran pension (MVP) regulations; appointing a military veteran appeal board (MVAB); signing an “addendum to address the administration fee payment”; and “resuscitating” the verification process that is the national military veterans’ database.
