AUDITOR-GENERAL Terence Nombembe has urged staff and members of the provincial legislature to ensure that the KwaZulu-Natal legislature maintains a clean audit opinion in the coming years.

"We have to be vocal when excellence has been demonstrated so that the public can be in a position to experience the emerging trends that we are seeing in South Africa."

Nombembe was speaking at the presentation of an award for a clean audit the legislature received.

He said the accolade meant the legislature could interrogate government departments in the knowledge that its house was in order.

KwaZulu-Natal was one of five legislatures in the country to be given a clean audit for the 2010/2011 financial year.

"We hope that this will encourage the leadership in the legislature, government and . other sectors that we are taking them seriously," Nombembe said.

He said his office was encouraged by the fact that other legislatures received unqualified audits - a vast improvement from the qualified audits or even disclaimers of past years.

He said even Parliament was showing signs of improvement. "I will be surprised if Parliament does not get a clean audit in the coming year."

Accepting the KwaZulu-Natal award, speaker Peggy Nkonyeni said this was the result of hard work by staff and political parties, including opposition parties, which had kept officials on their toes.

"We want to assure everyone that we will strive to maintain this record," Nkonyeni said.