R11m spent, R2,000 collected

The provincial public works department collected a measly R2,000 from its employees responsible for R11m in fruitless and wasteful expenditure accumulated over the years.

This is according to standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) researcher Chuma Cobongela, who was commenting on a report on public works at a Scopa sitting on Friday.

The department had decided to write off R4.9m of the R11m, Scopa was told.

“They have chosen to write off R4.9m of that. There is no explanation in their responses provided as to how they came to this decision.

“They have only recovered R2,000 from their employees as opposed to R4.9m that has just been written off,” Cobongela said in her presentation.

A letter dated July 30, from public works HOD Thandolwethu Manda to provincial Treasury head Daluhlanga Majeke, also showed that the department sought to condone irregular expenditure of R67m as a result of non-compliance.

There was no provincial response in the documents seen by the Dispatch. The total irregular expenditure peaked at R1.3bn as of March 2019.

Provincial public works spokesperson Vuyokazi Mbanjwa told the Dispatch that the R11m was a cumulative amount incurred between 2010-2019.

Asked why only R2,000 was collected, she said: “The amount collected was incurred in the 2019/2020 financial year and it is because of no-show cases [in a hotel or B&B] and lunch claimed twice by officials.

“Consequence management was implemented, hence the recovery.”

She said the fruitless and wasteful expenditure was mainly as a result of litigation, interest and no-shows.

Of the R4.9m written off, she said R2.8m was a result of old cases ranging between 2011/2012 to 2016/2017 “that were written off in accordance with the Prescription Act 68 of 1968”.

Mbanjwa said two transactions of R1.9m were incurred by officials who had since left the department and could not be traced.

She said the department also found nobody was liable for fruitless and wasteful expenditure of R25,600.

There was also a “justifiable” no-show which cost the department R1,248.

Mbanjwa said a candidate who did not pitch on the day of interviews had cost the department R5,000.