Even Presidency is guilty of wasting money
Poor financial controls are a concern for SA’s auditor-general, writes Mogomotsi Magome
AUDITOR- GENERAL Kimi Makwetu’s audit report on national and provincial government has raised concerns about financial controls in key national departments, including the Presidency.
The report, released this week, has slammed the Presidency for the manner in which it awards tenders without going through competitive bidding.
This has resulted in irregular, wasteful and fruitless expenditure, according to the auditorgeneral.
The auditor-general also laid into the National Youth Development Agency ( NYDA) which appeared not to take seriously the need to follow processes when awarding tenders and quotations.
Makwetu’s report, which revealed increases in irregular expenditure in government and provincial departments, showed a slight improvement in the number of departments and entities achieving clean audits.
However, it showed how contraventions of the Public Finance Management Act were continually being committed by even key departments.
Public Works’ attempt to clean up its act regarding its property management entity was largely responsible for the increase in irregular expenditure.
The Presidency includes in its portfolio the NYDA, the department of Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation, Brand South Africa, the Media Development and Diversity Agency and the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS).
The portfolio incurred R29.7 million in irregular expenditure and R2.5m in fruitless and wasteful expenditure, with the Presidency and the NYDA accounting for 94 percent of the expenditure and 93 percent of fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
According to the auditor-general, the supply-chain management within the Presidency remained a concern as the unit was not manned with full-time employees or skilled officials.
“The NYDA and the Presidency did not always follow a competitive bidding process for procuring goods and services. The NYDA did not advertise for competitive bidding in at least the government tender bulletin and did not have supporting evidence that quotations were awarded to bidders based on points… stipulated in the original invitation for bidding,” said the report.
Makwetu also found that not all senior managers in the Presidency had signed performance agreements and not all vacant posts had been filled.
While the NYDA was praised for reducing the irregular expenditure incurred by the agency, they had not taken effective steps to collect all money due to them.
The GCIS, on the other hand, had appointed employees without following a process to verify claims made in job applications.
Nor had the accounting authority taken reasonable steps to detect and prevent irregular expenditure of R16.4 million and wasteful expenditure of R1.8m.
According to the auditor-general, existing credit cards in the department had not been cancelled as required. Former finance minister Pravin Gordhan announced last year that, as part of belt-tightening, departments and ministers would be expected to tear up government credit cards.
Makwetu this week lauded departments and agencies which had heeded his call to pay more attention to complying with legislation, saying such attempts were showing in their audit results.