State money wasted left, right, centre

The ANC government has racked up R75.6 billion in irregular, fruitless, and wasteful spending in the 2017-18 financial year, the DA said yesterday.

DA chief whip John Steenhuisen and party shadow minister of public enterprises Natasha Mazzone told journalists in Cape Town the DA had analysed the 2017-18 annual reports of government departments and selected entities tabled in parliament.

“Our analysis reveals a shocking level of financial mismanagement and wasted funds by the failing ANC government,” they said.

Total irregular expenditure – spending not properly managed – had reached a staggering level of R72.6 billion. The composite analysis compiled last year by the DA revealed that total irregular expenditure across all departments and entities stood at R42.8 billion.

The figure for the most recent year was double what was incurred in the previous year and did not include all departments and entities as some had yet to table their report, they said.

Departments and entities that spent the most money irregularly included Eskom at R19.6 billion; the SA National Roads Agency Limited at R10.5 billion; Transnet (R8.1 billion); the department water and sanitation (R6.2 billion); SABC (R5 billion); Water Trading Entity (R4.9 billion); correctional services department (R3.2 billion); department of basic education (R1.7 billion); department of defence (R1.7 billion); international relations and co-operation (R1.2 billion); SA Social Security Agency (R1.7 billion); and the SA Post Office (R1 billion).

Fruitless and wasteful spending that had no benefit to the public and was wasted due to a lack of reasonable care and the basic requirements of management totalled another R3 billion – enough money to build 75 new schools.

The departments and entities that wasted the most money were the Water Trading Entity (R1 billion); Compensation Fund (R446 million); and the defence department (R398 million).

“As bad as these figures are, they are just the tip of the iceberg; serial offenders Denel, the Passenger Rail Agency SA, SA Airways, and SA Express have not yet tabled their annual reports for 2017/18,” Steenhuisen and Mazzone said. – ANA