TRC Final Report

Volume 6

Section 6

Part Managerial_Reports

Subsection 6

FINANCE DEPARTMENT

General introduction

29. Section 46(2) of the Act as amended set out the financial duties of the Commission and provided for the appointment of a chief executive officer who would also act as the chief accounting office r. Thus the financial accountability for the Commission rested with the chief executive offic e r. Section 46(5) of the Act required the Commission to prepare an estimate of revenue and expenditure for each year of its operation using a format to be determined in consultation with the Audit Commission. Section 9(1) of the Act directed the Commission to determine remuneration allowances in consultation with the Ministries of Finance and Justice, as well as terms and conditions of employment of staff members who were not state employees.

30. In complying with the financial mandate as directed by the Act and interpreted by the Commission, the chief executive officer delegated managerial responsibility to the director of finance. One of the tasks of the director was to assist the Commission by preparing estimates of revenue and expenditure .

Operations

31. The Finance Department consisted of a financial director, a financial manager, a facilities manager, two bookkeepers, four administrative clerks, two facilities clerks and a senior administrative secretary.

32. When the regional offices were scaled down to satellite offices in 1998 the bank accounts of those offices were closed and were managed from the national office. The national financial director reported to the Commission’s chief executive officer. The financial director’s activities were diversified to include support services, and the description of the portfolio changed to director of finance and support services.

Revenue

33. The Commission’s revenues were allocated as a separate line item in the budget of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, which was voted on and approved by parliament.

34. In addition, many international donor countries contributed financially to add value to the process. The Commission was initially under the impression that it could accept donations directly. Legal opinion provided by the state legal advisers, however, indicated that all donations received by the Commission had to be formally approved by the Department of State Expenditure through the Reconstruction and Development Fund.

35. As the Commission’s work progressed, it became clear that it would not be able to complete all its work within the prescribed eighteen-month period or even after several further extensions. The result was that parliament approved an Amendment of the Act (Act 33 of 1998). The Amendment provided for the Committee on Amnesty to continue with its functions until a date determined by the President. This meant that the Commission had to approach the Department of Finance for additional funding.

36. The Department of Finance allocated R14 617 000 to the Commission of for the 1999/2000 financial year, based on the assumption that the estimated date for the final closure of the Commission was set for the end of June 1999. However, the self-imposed deadline could not be met, and an amount of R8.5 million was then allocated to the Commission for the 2000/2001 financial year. Two additional amounts of R17 million and R4 681 million were allocated to the Commission to continue its work through the 2000/2001 financial year. An amount of R10 million was allocated to the Commission for the 2001/2002 financial year to wrap up the Commission’s proceedings. This was based on the assumption that the Commission would have been dissolved by the end of September 2001. The P resident, however, determined 31 March 2002 as the date upon which the Commission would finally be dissolved. This left the Commission with the dilemma that no provision for additional funding had been made. A very welcome donation was made by the Ford Foundation for the finalisation of the Codicil to the Final Report. However, over and above the grant received, the Department of Justice had to be approached for making available additional funding to ensure the proper and smooth closure of the activities of the Commission. At the time of writing this report a final answer in this regard was still awaited fro m the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.

37. The audit for the 2000/2001 fiscal year has been completed and will be tabled in parliament before the end of March 2002. Financial statements for the completed fiscal periods 1997/98, 1998/99 and 1999/2000 are attached as Appendices 1, 2 and 3. The financial statements for the 2001/2002 financial year had not yet been set before parliament at the date of publication of this Report. Generally speaking the Commission received very positive reports from the Auditor-General, especially for the 1999/2000 and 2000/2001 financial years. No major shortcomings were identified and in each report it was made clear that compliance with laws and regulations applicable to financial matters has occurred during each year reported on.