Parliament - Government entities racked up more than R2 billion in wasteful expenditure in the past financial year and incurred another R26.4bn in irregular spending, the Auditor General said on Wednesday.
In both instances, the transgression increased by more than a third since the previous financial year, AG Thembekile Makwetu told Parliament's watchdog public accounts committee, Scopa.
Makwetu reported that unauthorised expenditure came to R2.3bn, noting that little progress had been made in reducing the extent since 2011.
Most of the irregular expenditure was the result of departments failing to obtain three tenders for contracts and contracting with companies that did not have tax clearance from the SA Revenue Service.
Makwetu said overall audit outcomes of government entities had improved in the past year, with 58 percent avoiding qualified audits. However, he added that this was largely as a result of his office helping financial staff to correct errors made in their original submissions. - Sapa