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Auditor-General Terence Nombembe paints a grim picture of public finances in Pretoria. Photo: Sizwe Ndingane
The Auditor-General’s audited results of government and provincial departments and public entities have painted a picture of huge amounts of public funds being misused by departments and public entities.
More than R20 billion spent by national and provincial departments has been found to have been unauthorised, irregular, wasteful and fruitless expenditure.
Supply chain management, a division through which contracts and tenders are awarded at both national and provincial departments, has been highlighted by the Auditor-General (AG) as a key problem area.
Government’s weakness and lack of expertise in IT has also been mentioned as one of the key contributors to poor financial controls.
The Presidency also failed to obtain a clean audit and incurred R859 000 in irregular expenditure.
Only the departments of Public Enterprises, Environmental Affairs and Science and Technology managed to obtain clean audits.
AG Terence Nombembe on Monday released audited results of departments which saw the national Public Works Department being the only one to receive a disclaimer.
A disclaimer of audit opinion means the department failed to provide sufficient evidence or documentation on which auditors could form an opinion.
Only nine out of 39 national government departments received qualified reports, but Nombembe said he was concerned about the levels of financial control within these departments.
The departments of Defence and that of Justice and Constitutional Development were shown to be the biggest culprits in terms of irregular expenditures with figures of R799.3 million and R420.m respectively.
The Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs also incurred irregular expenditures of R419.5m.
The provincial audit report revealed there were many investigations currently under way related to irregular and unauthorised use of public funds by departments and entities.
According to the report, there has been a 12 percent overall increase compared to the previous financial year (2009-10) in the number of provincial departments incurring unauthorised, irregular and fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
The aggregate amount incurred in this regard increased by 25 percent from R16bn in 2009-10 to R20bn in 2010-11.
Departments and public entities at national level incurred more than R4.5bn in unauthorised, irregular, wasteful and fruitless expenditure.
Public entities in provinces, which are also funded by public money, have also increased the amount of money spent in irregular, unauthorised, wasteful and fruitless expenditure.
The number of public entities incurring such expenditures increased from 37 to 52, with an aggregate amount of R318m incurred in this regard.
Nombembe said 36 percent of provincial departments or public entities had commissioned investigations, with most of these in KwaZulu-Natal. “The extent of investigations commissioned suggests a control environment where fraud and financial misconduct are not prevented,” he added - Pretoria News
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Anonymous, wrote
Pat Pillay, wrote
I wonder how Mr Gordham would respond to this.Try not paying your oustanding R100 income tax due to the govt and see what happens. Oh, then I suppose the govt. is special and are above the law and are the priviliged.Government incompetence must ne me a national short term strategy.
OutofAfrica, wrote
@Proud African - you prove my point. No one is talking about Nats and Apartheid. We are talking about governing wisely, honestly and intelligently for the wellbeing of EVERYONE in SA. Maybe you don't get it??
Anonymous, wrote
"Government’s weakness and lack of expertise in IT has also been mentioned as one of the key contributors to poor financial controls." The ANC cadres deployed to push the ANC agenda in government depts like wasting money on "white elephant" systems and paying consultants millions to do their departments work for them if they are senior or middle management. If they are not management they spend more time in politics or union activities rather than doing their work. I am not a DA, ACDP, IFP, FF+, COPE or whatever, but I seriously hope the ANC loses about 20 percent of their vote so that they can catch a serious serious wake up call. I also hope future elections will be about ANC-social democrats (35 percent vote) versus DA-liberal democrats (35 percent) versus the smaller cultural or niche parties like COPE, NFP, IFP, FF+, ACDP etc (30 percent); socialism versus liberal capitalism.
Anonymous, wrote
@proudly african. Whats your point. You can still love SA even though you dont suport the ANC. Again, what is you opinion on this wastage?
daniel, wrote
But theres plenty money why can't they spend it?? Let our people spend if they want to!The poor don't need houses and facilities, and they must eat pap!
Anonymous, wrote
What a F98$#g disgrace for human mankind. Yes, "Proudly African", that includes you !! You dont know the word "proud"!! Are you proud of the ANC stealing and unlawfully wasting 20billion rand ?
Anonymous, wrote
Sad. Sad. Imagine how much could have been helped the needy community with those twenty billions of Rands, our tax money! This is how caring people become who are finally "someone".
Proudly African!, wrote
As if under the NATS there was accountability??? Get it through your nerves, Apartheid is gone and the ANC is and will rule. If you don't like it, go to Europe or Australia. I wonder why you are still here!!!
outofAfrica, wrote
"Government’s weakness and lack of expertise in IT has also been mentioned as one of the key contributors to poor financial controls" says it all. The truth is the ANC is not intellectually qualified to run the country. Unless you vote in people with financial, intellectual and other necessary integrity, you will get what you have also got!
PHillip, wrote
Why do they bother to do audits, they are not worth the paper they are written on. (Another wasteful expense)Every year it is the same the departments don't comply and nothing happens. Why would anyone be concerned as there is no accountability. The worst that could happen is that you either get to stay at home and get paid or you get moved to another department so you can continue the rape of the SA people.
brasco, wrote
This is tribal African thinking at it's most glorious ....Why did you Nats throw this country at these savage criminals . That was a sad day indeed !
Anonymous, wrote
Just to put this in perspective it is almost 25 % of South Afria's GDP. I wonder how many schools and hospitals could have been built with that money?
Anonymous, wrote
They should recover the R20bn rand and give it to SANRAL to pay for the roads and leave us hard working tax paying road users alone. I can not in good conscience pay toll fees when corruption is rife. If there was no corruption, the roads would be free.
Anonymous, wrote
So this disgusting situation will continue with more and more politicians having their snouts in the trough because Govt is determined it will not hire any white people who have the skills to assist fix this mess... At what point do we the taxpayer say enough and start witholding our taxes until the money is spent properly and not on the likes of Malema and his kind??
888, wrote
Something needs to happen. In any normal society people would have revolted and ousted those criminals out of power like in Egypt. But here ... I don't understand the mentality of the ANC voters, they don't seem to care or they are just hoping to get a chance to do the same?
shane, wrote
Keep telling us something we already know and tell us something we don't as to when are the heads going to roll for the over spending and can ANY MONEY be RECOVERED?
East Coaster, wrote
I wonder if loud mouth Juju (or any other opinionated ANC card carrying member) has anything to say about this?..."12% overall increase compared to previous year"... the rot continues unabatedly & with impunity.
Fed-Up, wrote
34r4, wrote
Next year we will read the same story , only it will be more money ... coz they will have increased our taxes again and invent new ones. Most pro-ANC voters don't pay any taxes anyway so why should they care? They are just waiting for the promised free handouts, free houses and free farms ,...
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