CAPE TOWN – The National Treasury would consider action against officials and former staff implicated in a forensic investigation into the failed Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) once a team completed its work on the issue by the end of April 2019, Treasury said on Friday.
Parliament's Standing Committee on Appropriations last week accused the Treasury of failing to comply with its own regulations.
“The forensic investigation report into the IFMS highlights the incompetence of officials in the National Treasury,” the committee said in a statement.
Committee chairperson Yvonne Phosa said: “The director general, Dondo Mogajane, needs to be more assertive in the approach of consequence management,” and Phosa warned Mogajane not to cover-up for officials implicated in the forensic report.
The committee further questioned the pace at which remedial action was being taken against officials.
The IFMS was supposed to be implemented years ago.
Its aim was to eventually be part of a system to replace numerous disparate or outdated data systems in the public sector.
According to one industry insider, considering the more than R4 billion of fruitless and wasteful expenditure on this project since 2005 and the changes in information technology, it would probably be better for the government to review the specifications of the entire project.
The Treasury last year awarded an IFMS tender to US multinational Oracle to buy software.
“Once the Reference Group, which includes senior officials of the Treasury and external specialists, has completed its work recommendations will be made to the director-general on what actions to take against implicated officials including those that have since left the department and monies to be recovered where deemed appropriate,” the Treasury said in response to questions from Business Report.
“The department received the IFMS forensic investigation report on August 28, 2018, from the forensic investigators and the audit committee.
"The 485-page report was drafted by the forensic investigators as recommendations was carefully studied by the department through a reference group of senior officials set up by the director general to assist him in analysing the report and its recommendations.
"The group then raised matters of clarity, law interpretation and methodology The team has since responded to these material matters again through the audit committee.
"The report had also been sent to individuals and service providers mentioned in the report for their responses.
"The team has since been strengthened with a specialist in law, contract management,” the Treasury said.
The forensic investigation found conflicts of interest, tender irregularities and other failures in appointing service providers.