Rob Tooley is SCOPA chair a 2nd time

POLOKWANE – For Rob Tooley, it is a circle completed after he was appointed as the new chairperson of the Limpopo Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa).

Tooley previously served on the Scopa team from 1995 to 2004.

“It is quite exciting to be back. The legislature has matured. There are many new faces in the new Scopa, but there are also experienced members like Elias Nong, who will be a huge asset to the committee. I appreciate the confidence placed in me, and hope to rise to the occasion. It is an enormous responsibility to meet the promises made to the electorate,” Tooley said about his appointment.

Tooley said before Scopa could commence with hearings, they would go through all previous Scopa resolutions to see if they were implemented and to what extent.

“We really have to follow up on the resolutions and take our oversight roll seriously. It is important for sustainability. Achieving our objections is important, especially in the 20th year of the ANC’s rule. Scopa’s role is to ensure the administration functions well, but first it will be a process to teach new members the ropes.”

Tooley said he expected the Auditor General’s reports on departmental financial statements and reports only later this year, after which Scopa hearings would commence.

“Scopa is an essential part of oversight in the accountability link. We must expose issues into the public domain. We have to hold people to account. The province has been through a very difficult four years. I have been part of the interim task team and kept track of politics. Scopa is the closing of the accountability chain. If we do not do our work well, it may well have a knock-on impact on the service delivery chain,” Tooley said.

With 18 years’ experience in governance behind him, Tooley said the Limpopo government had to pull up its socks when it comes to service delivery. “The premier, Stanley Mathabatha, is also very serious about this issue,” he said.

He said his own objectives were to make an impact on the ground, with the “nuts and bolts” issues; improving peoples’ lives.

He explained that he foresees a few headaches still with the departments of education and health, but acknowledged that these large departments were not easy to manage. He said Scopa would help add to the management of these departments by helping them achieve their objectives.

Tooley said he believed strong and good leadership could help achieve a motivated administration that wanted to serve the people.

“Leadership by example can help instil pride and respect. Everybody is of equal worth: whether it be the person who makes tea in an organisation or a director or manager.”