SAPS’ R3.47bn ‘irregular expenditure’

SAPS has incurred irregular expenditure of almost R3.47 billion but at the same time underspent its budget by billions.

The underspending in visible policing stands at R2.6bn and in the detective services amounts to almost R1bn.

This emerged as SAPS is caught up in an internal probe with President Cyril Ramaphosa asking National Commissioner Khehla Sitole to give reasons why he should not be suspended.

Ramaphosa has confirmed that Sitole has made his submission to him.

Sitole is set to face a board of inquiry for failing to co-operate with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate regarding the grabber that was used at the ANC’s Nasrec conference in 2017.

But in the annual report that has been tabled in Parliament, the police are facing serious financial challenges.

In her report, Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke said the police service had not only incurred irregular expenditure but faced many lawsuits.

“As disclosed in note 18 to the financial statements, the department is a defendant in a number of lawsuits. The department is opposing the claims, as it believes they are not valid. The ultimate outcome of these matters cannot be determined and no provision for any liability that may result was made in the financial statements,” said Maluleke in her audit report.

Maluleke also found that the SAPS had underspent its budget during the last financial year.

“As disclosed in the appropriation statement, the department materially underspent the budget by R2.665bn on programme 2 – visible policing – and R997 million on programme 3 – detective services,” she said.

At the same time, SAPS has chalked up massive irregular expenditure.

“As disclosed in note 24 to the financial statements, irregular expenditure of R3.475bn was still under assessment,” said Maluleke.

In his remarks in the report, Police Minister Bheki Cele said they were clamping down on crime, and trying to deploy resources where they were most needed to rein in criminals.

He said gender-based violence was the second pandemic affecting the country. There had been an increase in GBV cases in the last few months.

In the latest crime statistics, Cele said criminals were becoming more violent, with thousands of people killed in the first three months of the year. Rape and sexual violence cases were also on the rise.