Question NW1321 to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development

(a)

No. of days

Quantity

Value

30-60

98

5 615 867.06

(b)

61-90

9

1 807 241.98

91-180

24

1 496 044.94

>180

5

1. 09.60

Reason for non-compliance

Mitigation

The main contributor to the late payment of service providers is lack of proper internal controls which relate to the tracing of the status of a particular invoice and supporting documents as they are processed through the various verification channels within the Department including from provinces to national office.

• The Department implemented the invoice tracking system which allows for more effective tracing of the status of invoices as they are processed through verification channels. The system requires that the Department has one central point for receiving invoices; this makes invoice tracking more effective and efficient.

• Each official on the chain is allocated a timeframe to perform the relevant function pertaining to that invoice. If there is non-compliance to timeframes, the system escalates the matter to the next level of authority.

• Change management sessions with all internal stakeholders will be conducted through the Corporate Services Branch.

• Officials’ performance agreements include the payment of invoices within 30 days as a key performance area on which performance is assessed.

• Officials found to be non-compliant are issued with letters of non-compliance as a punitive measure and to alert officials of their responsibility in ensuring compliance to the 30 days’ requirement.