Blue IQ will continue to be run as an agency, but stricter financial controls will be introduced, says the Gauteng Department of Economic Development.
Last year, the auditor-general's (AG's) report slammed the state of affairs at the Gauteng agency, revealing irregularities and financial transgressions in its technology holdings.
Another one of the province's biggest agencies - the Gauteng Shared Service Centre - was recently incorporated in the newly formed Department of Finance. However, the Gauteng government says its troubled Blue IQ will not follow suit.
Firoz Cachalia, MEC for economic development in Gauteng, expressed disappointment at the AG's report and reacted swiftly by introducing recovery measures. While the department's CFO would oversee the financial management of the agency, bigger changes would not be introduced.
The AG's report cited spending on the province's largest broadband infrastructure project, Blue Umbrella, for failing to follow the required supply chain management processes and not being based on approved budgets.
The agency's technology venture capital division, Blue Catalyst, was also criticised for irregular expenses. While the division was supposed to focus on funding innovation and developing commercial opportunities, it was cited for issuing a R5 million guarantee in contravention of the Public Finance Management Act.
Cachalia also instructed the CFO in the department to establish a task team to analyse the AG report and implement a programme to achieve clean audits in the 2010/11 financial year.
While the department declined to reveal details of the measures, it did note that programmes had been drawn up by the CFO.
Cachalia added that the CFO has identified immediate successes and is working on issues that require more time to resolve. Target dates have been set, and the department and its agencies have identified systems that must be addressed in order to achieve clean audits.
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